


■^•■kM^atfBa*! 


SEP     3  1964 


HISTORY 


OF    THE 


CHRISTIAN   CHURCH, 


BY 


HENRY  C.   SHELDON, 

AUTHOR  OF   "HISTORY  OF   CHRISTIAN   DOCTRINE,"    AND  PROFESSOR 
IN   BOSTON   UNIVERSITY. 


Vol.  II. 
THE    MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 


NEW  YORK:  46  East  14th  Street. 

THOMAS  Y.   CROWELL   &   CO. 

BOSTON:  100  Purchase  Street. 
1894. 


Copyright,  1894, 
By  Henry  C.  Sheldon. 


John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge,  U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS. 


Jirst  perioti  (590-1073). 

Page 
INTRODUCTION 3 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE  BARBARIAN  TRIBES 7 

CHAPTER  II. 
EXTENSION  OF  CHRISTIAN  TERRITORY  BY  MISSIONARIES       23 

CHAPTER  III. 

LIMITATION    OF    CHRISTIAN    TERRITORY    BY    MOHAMME- 
DANISM  50 

CHAPTER  IV. 
CIVIL  PATRONS  OF  CHRISTIANITY 58 

CHAPTER  V. 
CONTROVERSIES 67 


iv  CONTEXTS. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

CHURCH  CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE. 

Page 

I.  The  Relations  between  Church  and  State     .     .     .  9^ 

II.  The  Clergy  in  General 105 

III.  The  Papacy Ill 

IV.  Discipline 125 

CHAPTER  VIL 
WORSHIP  AND  LIFE 131 


SccontJ  Pcrioti  (1073-1294). 

INTRODUCTION      .     .     .     .     , 149 

CHAPTER  I. 

POLITICAL   STATUS   OF   THE    PRINCIPAL    COUNTRIES    OF 

EUROPE 151 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  PAPAL  THEOCRACY  AND  OTHER  FEATURES  OF 

CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

I.  Gregory  VII.  and  his  more  immediate  Successors   .  165 

II.  Alexander  III.  and  Thomas  Becket 191 

III.  Innocent  III 200 

IV.  The  Papacy  from  Innocent  III.  to  Boniface  VIII.  .  239 
V.  Various  Features  of  Church  Constitution      .     .     .  248 

CHAPTER  III. 
THE  CRUSADES 259 


CONTENTS.  V 

CHAPTER  IV. 

MONASTICISM. 

Page 

I.     The  Cistercians  and  their  great  Representative   .    271 
II.    The  Mendicant  Orders 287 

CHAPTER  V. 
SCHOLASTICISM  AND  MYSTICISM 302 


^rtitti  Perioti  (1294-1517). 

INTRODUCTION 319 

CHAPTER  I. 
CHIEF  POLITICAL  DEVELOPMENTS 323 

CHAPTER  II. 
POPES  AND  COUNCILS 331 

CHAPTER  III. 
REPRESENTATIVES  OF  CRITICISM  AND  REFORM  ....     380 

CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  WALDENSES 391 

CHAPTER  V. 
JOHN  WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS 400 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Page 

JOHN  HUSS  AND  THE  HUSSITES 427 

CHAPTER  YII. 
THE  MYSTICS 460 

CHAPTER  Till. 
SAVONAROLA 473 

CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  MEDIEVAL  GREEK  CHURCH 481 

CHAPTER  X. 

MEDIiEVAL  HYMNS,  ARCHITECTURE,  AND  PAINTING. 

I.    Hymns 400 

II.    Akchitectuke 513 

III.    Painting 522 


APPENDIX. 

I.    The  Seven  Sacraments 541 

II.    Genuineness  of  the  Famous  Bull  of  Adrian  IV.     .  544 

III.  Sorcery  and  Witchcraft 546 

IV.  Popes  and  Emperors 549 

Index 555 


FIRST  PERIOD, 

690-1073. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  stream  is  apt  to  imbibe,  to  some  extent,  the 
color  of  the  soil  through  which  it  flows.  So  it 
has  been  with  historical  Christianity.  If  the  life-stream 
has  been  divine,  the  channels  have  been  human.  The 
current  has  reflected  the  civilization  through  which 
it  has  passed.  Apostolic  Christianity,  springing  up  on 
the  soil  of  Judaism,  exhibited,  notwithstanding  its  dis- 
tinctive character,  something  of  a  Jewish  tinge  ;  post- 
apostolic  Christianity,  in  its  more  speculative  attempts, 
took  a  coloring  from  the  philosophic  thought  of  the 
classic  systems ;  and  post-Constantinian  Christianity, 
imbibing  the  leaven  brought  in  by  heathen  multitudes 
suddenly  professing  conversion,  admitted  elements  af- 
filiating with  the  common  heathenism  of  the  classic 
w^orld.  A  deplorable  taint  of  idolatrous  superstition 
was  carried  forward  into  the  next  period.  But  this  is 
no  disproof  either  of  the  pure  essence  of  Christianity 
in  itself,  or  of  the  providence  of  God.  The  Author 
of  Christianity  must  take  such  conditions  as  a  world  of 
free  agents  affords.  He  cannot  be  asked  to  keep  the 
stream,  as  it  flows  through  earthly  soil,  free  from  all 
mixture  of  earthliness.     He  can  only  be  asked  to  keep 


4  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

the  stream  moviDg  on  down  through  the  centuries  to- 
wards those  better  conditions  which  His  power,  wdsdom, 
and  love  may  be  able  progressively  to  introduce. 

In  the  period  upon  which  we  now  enter,  Christianity 
strikes  upon  a  new  soil,  goes  forward  into  the  midst  of 
a  new  series  of  modifying  conditions.  These  may  be 
described  by  a  single  comprehensive  term,  barbarism. 
The  encounter  of  Christianity  with  barbarism  is  the 
next  great  phase  of  history.  This  encounter,  we  can 
readily  believe,  was  no  easy  one.  It  was  not  a  station- 
ar}^  barbarism  by  which  Christianity  was  confronted,  — 
not  a  passive  subject  waiting  quietly  in  its  own  domain 
to  be  leavened  by  the  gradual  absorption  of  religious 
truth.  It  was  rather  a  moving  barbarism,  rushing  on 
tumultuously  into  the  domain  of  Christianity  itself. 
There  was  no  remaining  at  a  distance  ;  intermingling 
was  unavoidable.  The  contact  was  of  necessity  inti- 
mate, and  it  might  be  expected  that  the  modifjdng 
influence  would  be  correspondingly  apparent. 

Barbarism  in  itself  is  not  specially  interesting.  The 
curious  exhibitions  of  human  nature  which  it  affords 
may  excite  and  gratify  the  attention  for  a  time  ;  never- 
theless, it  is  comparatively  a  barren  field.  But  barba- 
rism coming  into  contact  with  Christianity,  hordes  of 
rude  warriors  bringing  their  spears  and  battle-axes 
into  the  presence  of  the  cross,  men  of  the  forest  crossing 
the  threshold  of  the  sanctuary  and  passing  under  the 
shadow  of  Christian  and  classic  institutions, — in  this 
there  is  manifest  such  a  crisis  in  history,  such  a  group 
of  fruitful  beginnings,  that  the  most  interested  atten- 
tion is  warranted,  and  cannot  fail  of  being  repaid. 
Here  was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  modern  world  to 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

which  we  belong.  Both  as  students  of  the  Christian 
rehgion  and  as  students  of  modern  civilization,  we  can- 
not afford  to  neglect  this  era  of  the  juncture  of  Chris- 
tianity and  barbarism,  this  age  of  transition,  of  new 
departures,  of  the  germs  of  things  to  come. 

We  may  find  much  of  darkness  and  confusion,  but  we 
sliall  not  find  a  state  of  continuous  stagnation.  There 
was  plenty  of  movement.  A  variety  of  important 
events  claim  our  attention,  such  as  the  migration  and 
conquests  of  the  barbarian  tribes,  great  missionary  en- 
terprises, the  rise,  spread,  and  encroachments  of  Mo- 
hammedanism, long-waged  and  significant  controversies 
like  the  Iconoclastic,  the  alliances  of  Church  and  State, 
the  opposing  claims  and  mutual  usurpations  of  Church 
and  State,  the  growth  of  the  papal  power,  and  the  con- 
struction, or  at  least  outlining,  of  the  whole  framework 
and  enginery  of  mediaeval  discipline  and  worship. 


THE  MEDliEYAL  CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    BARBARIAN    TKIBES. 

AS  if  called  of  God  to  hasten  toward  the  risen  light 
of  Christianity,  the  nations  of  the  North  and  the 
East  began  to  press  toward  the  Roman  Empire.     Even 
before  the  Christian  era,  there  were   premonitions   of 
the  coming  inundation.     A  fearful  one  was  that  which 
occurred  a  httle  more  than  a  century  before  the  bnth 
of  Christ,  when  the  Cimbrians  and  Teutons  appalled 
the  veterans  of  Rome  with  their  wild  battle-cries  and 
gicrantic  forms,  annihilated  army  after  army,  and  first 
met  with  a  check   upon  the   soil  of   Italy  and  at  the 
hands  of   such  a  general  as  Marius.     Half  a  century 
later,  Julius  Csesar  found  it  an  arduous  task  to  drive 
the    German    invaders    from   Gaul.      In   the   time    of 
Marcus    Aurelius,   aggressive    movements   on    a   large 
scale  were   again   inaugurated.     From    that   time    the 
threatening   cloud  was   never   off  the    horizon  of  the 
Roman  world,  and   ofttimes   sent   forth   tokens  of  its 
destructive  energy. 

The  bulk  of  the  invading  tribes   was  of   the  same 


8  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

general  stock,  the  Germanic.  A  glance  at  their  native 
characteristics  will  be  appropriate  before  giving  an  ac- 
count of  their  inroads  upon  Christian  territory.  The 
description  of  a  contemporary  is  provided  in  the  writ- 
ings of  Tacitus.  A  wish  to  rebuke  the  corruptions  of 
Roman  civilization  by  contrast  with  the  customs  of 
barbarians  may  have  given  color  to  some  items  in  his 
account,  but  in  general  it  may  be  regarded  as  trust- 
worthy. He  says  of  the  bodily  characteristics  of  the 
Germans:  "A  family  likeness  pervades  the  whole, 
though  their  numbers  are  so  great :  eyes  stern  and 
blue ;  ruddy  hair ;  large  bodies,  powerful  in  sudden 
exertions,  but  impatient  of  toil  and  labor,  least  of  all 
capable  of  sustaining  thirst  and  heat.  Cold  and  hun- 
ger they  are  accustomed  by  their  climate  and  soil  to 
endure." 

Their  government  concedes  a  large  range  to  personal 
liberty.  "  In  the  election  of  kings  they  have  regard 
to  birth  ;  in  that  of  generals,  to  valor.  Their  kings 
have  not  an  absolute  or  unlimited  power ;  and  their 
generals  command  less  through  the  force  of  authority 
than  of  example.  If  they  are  daring,  adventurous, 
and  conspicuous  in  action,  they  procure  obedience  from 
the  admiration  they  inspire."  In  affairs  of  importance, 
the  whole  community  of  warriors  is  consulted.  They 
come  armed  to  the  assembly.  "  Then  the  king,  or  chief, 
and  such  others  as  are  conspicuous  for  age,  birth,  mili- 
tary renown,  or  eloquence,  are  heard,  and  gain  attention 
rather  from  their  ability  to  persuade  than  their  author- 
ity to  command.  If  a  proposal  displease,  the  assembly 
reject  it  by  an  inarticulate  murmur ;  if  it  prove  agree- 
able, they  clash  their  javelins,  for  the  most  honorable 


THE  BARBARIAN   TRIBES.  9 

expression  of  assent  among  them  is  the  sound  of  arms. 
Before  this  council,  it  is  likewise  allowed  to  exhibit 
accusations,  and  to  prosecute  capital  offences.  Punish- 
ments are  varied  according  to  the  nature  of  the  crime. 
Traitors  and  deserters  are  hung  upon  trees  ;  cowards, 
dastards,  and  those  guilty  of  unnatural  practices,  are 
suffocated  in  mud  under  a  hurdle."  To  add  a  divine 
sanction  to  the  administration  of  justice,  the  visiting  of 
penalties  is  intrusted  to  the  priests. 

War  is  the  principal  occupation  of  those  having  the 
strength  to  bear  arms.  ''  Nay,  they  even  think  it  base 
and  spiritless  to  earn  by  sweat  what  they  might  pur- 
chase by  blood.  During  the  intervals  of  war  they  pass 
their  time  less  in  hunting  than  in  sluggish  repose, 
divided  between  sleep  and  the  table.  All  the  bravest 
of  the  warriors,  comniitting  the  care  of  the  house,  the 
family  affairs,  and  the  lands  to  the  women,  old  men, 
and  weaker  part  of  the  domestics,  stupefy  themselves  in 
inaction."  Their  military  equipment  is  simple,  consists 
ing  of  spears,  missile  weapons,  and  shields.  "  Their  line 
of  battle  is  disposed  in  wedges.  To  give  ground,  pro- 
vided they  rally  again,  is  considered  rather  as  a  prudent 
stratagem,  than  cowardice.  The  greatest  disgrace  that 
can  befall  them  is  to  have  abandoned  their  shields.  A 
person  branded  with  this  ignominy  is  not  permitted  to 
join  in  their  religious  rites,  or  enter  their  assemblies  ;  so 
that  many,  after  escaping  from  battle,  have  put  an  end 
to  their  infamy  by  the  halter." 

The  women  vie  with  the  men  in  courage,  accompany 
them  to  the  battle-field,  meet  the  fugitives  with  re- 
proaches, and  endeavor  to  drive  them  back  to  the  con- 
flict.    The  men,  on  their  part,  entertain  a  high  respect 


10  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

for  their  women.  *'  They  even  suppose  somewhat  of 
sanctity  and  prescience  to  be  inherent  in  the  female 
sex ;  and  therefore  neither  despise  their  counsels,  nor 
disregard  their  responses."  In  their  mutual  relations, 
both  are  honorably  distinguished  by  the  virtue  of 
chastity.  Polygamy  is  practised  only  by  a  few,  whose 
alliance  is  solicited  on  account  of  their  rank.  "  The 
matrimonial  bond  is  strict  and  severe  among  them. 
Men  and  women  alike  are  unacquainted  with  clandestine 
correspondence.  Adultery  is  extremely  rare  among  so 
numerous  a  people." 

The  most  glaring  vices  of  the  barbarians  are  drunk- 
enness and  gambling.  They  consider  it  no  disgrace  to 
pass  days  and  nights,  without  intermission,  in  drinkiug, 
and  frequently  pay  the  penalty  of  intoxication  with 
bloodshed.  '*  They  play  at  dice,  when  sober,  as  a  seri- 
ous business  ;  and  that  with  such  a  desperate  venture 
of  gain  or  loss,  that,  when  everything  else  is  gone,  they 
set  their  liberties  and  persons  on  the  last  throw." 

Tacitus  gives  us  also  some  account  of  the  religion  of 
the  barbarians ;  but  his  information,  evidently,  was  but 
partial  upon  this  topic.  In  completing  the  picture  of 
the  early  religion  of  Germany,  we  need  to  have  recourse 
to  that  later  elaboration  of  the  Germanic  mythology 
which  appears  in  the  Scandinavian  Eddas.  The  system 
contained  in  the  latter,  if  not  identical  at  all  points  with 
the  former,  is  at  least  closely  akin,  and  so  affords  much 
aid  in  filling  up  the  gaps  in  the  older  accounts. 

The  religion  of  the  Germans  appears  to  have  been  a 
polytheism,  in  which  the  gods  stood  in  close  relation 
with  the  powers  of  nature.  Caesar  calls  attention  to 
this  feature  in  his  remark  that  the  Germans  acknowl- 


THE  BARBARIAN   TRIBES.  H 

edge  only  such  gods  as  are  visible,  and  whose  might 
renders  a  perceptible  aid,  such  as  manifest  themselves 
through  the  orbs  of  heaven  and  the  element  of   fire.i 
In  their  worship  of  the  gods,  they  were  accustomed  to 
discard   for    the  most  part  both  temples  and  images. 
Sacred  groves  took  the  place  of  the  former,  and  symbols 
of  the  latter.     This  absence  of  images,  as  Wilhelm  Mul- 
ler  judges,  betokens  not  so  much  an  approach  to  high 
spiritual  conceptions,  as  the  stage  of  indefiniteness  in 
the  growth  of  polytheism.     The  Scandinavians  in  later 
times  used  images,  and  their  employment  seems  to  have 
been  on  the  increase  among  the  German  tribes  when 
Christianity   came    across   the  natural  development  of 
their  polytheism.2     The  good  will  of  the  gods  was  so- 
licited by  sacrifices,  though  the  Germans  were  not  spe- 
cially lavish  in  this  kind  of  tribute.     Sometimes  human 
victims  were  sent  to  the  altar :  this  was  not  an  unusual 
fate  for  prisoners  of  war.     Where  the  sacrificial  rites 
concerned  only  a  family,  they  were  performed  by  the 
father  of  the  household  ;  where  they  represented  the 
state   or   tribe,  the   priest  alone  was  qualified  to  act. 
The  priests  formed   no  separate  caste  ;   but  as  special 
servants  of  the  gods,  and  bearers  of  judicial  functions, 
they  commanded  no  small  degree  of  reverence. 

Among  their  deities  were  Wuotan,  Donar,  Zio,  Fro, 
Frouwa,  and  Paltar,  corresponding  to  the  Scandinavian 
Odin,  Thor,  Tyr,  Freyr,  Freyja,  and  Baldur.  A  con- 
spicuous place  was  also  occupied  l)y  Loki,  the  fire  god ; 
but  his  honor  by  no  means  equalled  his  prominence,  and 
he  is  represented  as  causing  unbounded  mischief  through 

1  Bella  Gallorum,  vi.  21. 

2  Geschichte  und  System  der  Altdeutschen  Religion. 


12  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

his  unprincipled  wiles. ^  Much  account  was  made,  in 
their  mythology,  of  giants,  pygmies,  spirits  of  forests, 
mountains,  and  streams. 

In  the  oracles  of  the  North,  some  interesting  glimpses 
are  given  of  barbarian  beliefs  respecting  the  beginning 
and  the  end  of  things.  First  (so  their  thought  ran) 
there  was  a  wide-reaching,  empty  chasm.  At  a  later 
stage,  toward  the  northern  end  of  the  abyss  was  formed 
a  world  of  darkness  and  cold  ;  at  the  southern  end 
appeared  a  world  of  light  and  fire.  Out  of  the  inter- 
mingling of  ingredients  from  these  two  worlds  came  life 
in  the  shape  of  the  huge  being,  Ymir,  the  progenitor 
of  the  giants  ;  and  also  in  the  form  of  the  cow,  which 
by  licking  the  ice-blocks  disengaged  the  progenitor  of 
the  gods.  The  body  of  the  slain  Ymir  supplied  the 
gods  with  materials  for  the  formation  of  the  earth. 
From  his  blood  came  the  sea  and  all  waters  ;  from  his 
flesh,  the  soil;  from  his  bones  and  teeth,  mountains  and 
rocks ;  from  his  skull,  the  dome  of  the  sky  ;  fiom  his 
brain,  the  clouds.^  In  the  general  cast  of  their  cos- 
mogony, we  may  discern  tokens  of  a  vivid  impression 
of  the  clash  and  struggle  of  opposing  forces  in  nature. 

As,  in  the  first  picture  of  the  gods,  they  are  rep- 
resented as  confronted  by  the  race  of  the  giants,  so 
in  s  closing  scene  of  the  present  dispensation  they 
appear  in  conflict  with  mighty  and  raging  foes.  The 
victory  now  turns  against  them.     All  are  overpowered, 

^  Loki  holds  a  place  in  a  measure  analogous  to  that  of  the  Devil. 
Still  he  does  not  appear  such  an  embodiment  of  unmixed  evil  as  is  de- 
noted by  this  term.  As  Grimm  contends,  the  proper  notion  of  devil  had 
no  place  in  Germanic  paganism.  (Teutonic  ISIythology,  p.  984  in  Eng. 
trans.) 

2  Simrock,  Handbuch  der  Deutschen  Mythologie. 


THE  BARBARIAN   TRIBES.  13 

and  the  earth  sinks  down  in  fire  and  blood.  However, 
the  desolation  continues  only  for  a  space.  There  rises 
out  of  the  wreck  a  purified  world,  upon  which  are 
discerned  Baldur,  the  beloved  son  of  Odin,  a  few  other 
descendants  of  the  fallen  gods,  and  an  innocent  human 
pair.  A  new  dispensation  is  begun,  over  which  presides 
an  unspeakable  being  standing  above  the  old  genera- 
tion of  gods.  The  account  reads  almost  as  if  the  North- 
men entertained  a  premonition  that  the  curtain  would 
descend  upon  their  ancient  mythology,  and  faith  in  a 
God  of  supreme  and  unrivalled  dominion  take  its  place. 

In  their  conception  of  the  future  life  awaiting  men, 
these  warlike  tribes  naturally  glorified  the  warrior's 
virtues.  Heaven,  as  they  pictured  it,  is  the  abode  of 
the  brave  and  the  true,  wdiere  heroes  revel  in  the  alter- 
nate joys  of  the  battle  and  the  feast;  hell,  with  its 
dark,  cavernous  depths,  and  chilling  mists,  the  prison- 
house  of  the  cowardly  and  the  false. 

Among  the  barbarian  tribes  of  the  third  and  fourth 
centuries  we  find  several  confederacies  occupying  a  con- 
spicuous place,  such  as  the  Alemanni,  the  Franks,  the 
Saxons,  and  the  Goths. 

The  Alemanni  inhabited  the  territory  between  the 
Rhine  and  the  Danube,  in  the  southwest  corner  of  '"he 
Germanic  domain.  Not  content  with  their  bounds, \;iiey 
began  in  the  last  half  of  the  third  century  to  make  in- 
roads into  Gaul,  and  contested  the  field  with  various 
of  the  Roman  Emperors  in  the  next  century.  A  memo- 
rial of  the  alarm  and  distress  which  they  caused  to  the 
people  of  Gaul  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  they  supplied 
the  name  AUemands,  by  w^hich  the  French  to  this  day 
speak  of  the  Germans  in  general.     The  conversion  of 


14  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

this    people    to   Christianity  is   placed    in   the    sixth 
century. 

The  Franks,  as  they  came  upon  the  stage  of  history, 
were  a  confederation  of  several  tribes,  dwelling  along 
the  Lower  Rhine.  It  was  in  the  reign  of  Gordian  (238- 
244)  that  they  made  their  first  incursion  into  Roman 
territory.  "  Clothed  in  the  spoils  of  the  bear,  the  urus, 
the  boar,  and  the  wolf,  they  looked  at  a  distance  like  a 
herd  of  wild  beasts.  Each  man  bore  in  his  right  hand 
a  long  lance,  in  the  left  a  buckler ;  in  his  girdle,  a  two- 
edged  axe,  which  was  their  peculiar  weapon,  and  which 
they  either  used  in  hand  to  hand  encounters,  or  hurled 
from  a  distance  with  unerring  precision.  In  migrating 
to  new  homes,  they  carried  their  wives  and  children 
and  rude  household  goods  in  rough  wagons  with  great 
wheels  of  solid  wood,  drawn  by  oxen.  The  wagons, 
ranged  in  a  circle,  formed  a  protection  to  their  camp 
when  needful.  Again  and  again,  during  two  centuries, 
attracted  by  the  rich  prey  which  the  towns  and  villas 
of  the  wealthy  provincials  offered,  they  repeated  their 
raids  ;  and  again  and  again  the  imperial  legions  defeated 
them  with  great  slaughter,  and  chased  the  survivors  out 
of  the  empire."  But  continued  pressure  overcame  the 
barriers.  By  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  a  con- 
siderable body  of  the  Franks  had  settled  upon  the  left 
bank  of  the  Rhine.  A  century  later  they  were  found 
in  possession  of  a  large  part  of  Gaul,  and  no  longer  sub- 
sisting as  a  loose  confederation,  but  united  (at  least  for 
an  interval)  under  a  single  rule.  The  agent  of  this  uni- 
fication was  the  powerful  and  grasping  Salian  prince, 
Clovis.  Under  Clovis,  the  Franks  in  large  part  em- 
braced  Christianity.     They  embraced  it  as   might  be 


THE  BARBARIAN  TRIBES.  15 

expected  of  uncivilized  warriors.  Clovis  himself,  while 
he  may  have  been  influenced  to  some  extent  by  the  per- 
suasions of  his  Christian  wife,  the  Burgundian  princess 
Clotilda,  found  the  decisive  argument  for  the  new  re- 
ligion upon  the  battle-field.  Being  hard  pressed  by  the 
Alemanni,  he  appealed  to  the  God  of  the  Christians, 
and  vowed  that  he  would  submit  to  baptism  if  victory 
were  granted  him.  His  arms  were  completely  suc- 
cessful ;  and  soon  after,  with  several  thousand  of  his 
warriors,  he  received  the  Christian  rites. ^  But  the  bap- 
tismal water  seems  to  have  been  accompanied  by  no 
effectual  inward  cleansing.  Treachery  and  bloody  vio- 
lence marked  the  course  of  the  new  convert.  While 
he  is  praised  in  the  annals  of  the  time  as  a  champion  of 
the  orthodox  faith  against  the  Arianism  of  contiguous 
tribes,  these  very  annals  have  offset  their  own  lauda- 
tions, and  drawn  the  marks  of  an  ineffaceable  infamy 
across  his  name.  Many  of  the  successors  of  Clovis 
were  as  remote  as  he  from  being  examples  of  Christian 
living.  The  court  of  the  Merovingian  princes  con- 
tinued to  present  the  spectacle  of  polygamous  excess, 
unrestrained  license,  intrigue,  and  assassination.  Some 
of  the  characters  nurtured  in  this  hotbed  of  corrup- 
tion cannot  easily  be  paralleled  for  viciousness.  If 
one  half  is  true  in  the  apparently  unvarnished  story  of 
Gregory  of  Tours,  then  Fredegonda  will  stand  in  the 
front  rank  of  the  evil  women  who  have  combined  the 
cunning  of  the  serpent  with  the  malice  of  the  fury. 

The  Saxons,  like  the  Franks  upon  their  first  appear- 
ance, were  a  confederation  of  tribes.  Their  original 
seat  was   beyond   the   Franks,  on   the  Weser  and  the 

1  Gregory  of  Tours,  Historia  Francorum,  lib.  ii.  §§  31,  32. 


16  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

North  Sea.  At  an  early  date  they  began  to  engage  in 
predatory  excursions.  Near  the  middle  of  the  fifth 
century,  together  with  the  Jutes  and  the  Angles  (or 
Engles),  they  commenced  their  descent  upon  England. 
The  conquest  advanced  slowly,  but  with  great  thorough- 
ness. "  Field  by  field,  town  by  town,  forest  by  forest, 
the  land  was  won.  And  as  each  bit  of  ground  was 
torn  away  by  the  stranger,  the  Briton  sullenly  with- 
drew from  it  only  to  turn  doggedly  and  fight  for  the 
next.  .  .  .  How  slow  the  work  of  English  conquest 
was  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  it  took  nearly  thirty 
years  to  win  Kent  alone,  and  sixty  to  complete  the  con- 
quest of  Southern  Britain,  and  that  the  conquest  of 
the  bulk  of  the  island  was  only  wrought  out  after  two 
centuries  of  bitter  warfare."  ^  The  subject  of  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  among  the  Saxons  may 
conveniently  find  place  in  a  succeeding  chapter. 

The  Goths  appeared  at  the  end  of  the  second  cen- 
tury, on  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Lower  Danube.  They 
were  already  a  very  numerous  people.  Two  principal 
branches  were  distinguished,  the  Eastern  and  the  West- 
ern. By  the  early  part  of  the  third  century,  they  had 
become  such  an  object  of  dread  that  Roman  Emperors 
were  found  willing  to  purchase  peace  with  them  at  the 
expense  of  tribute.  In  the  third  quarter  of  the  same 
century,  they  extended  their  desolating  marches  into 
Greece,  Macedonia,  Asia  Minor,  and  Italy,  plundering 
on  their  way  many  famous  cities.  Again,  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  fourth  century,  they  began  a  series  of 
far-reaching  invasions.  In  this  instance  the  primar}^ 
impulse  came  from  the  Huns,  a  wild  race  from  the  up- 
1  Green,  History  of  the  English  People. 


THE  BARBARIAN  TRIBES.  17 

lands  of  Asia,  ugly  in  countenance  and  short  in  stature, 
but  broad-shouldered,  and  skilled  in  horsemanship  as 
men  who  had  spent  their  lives  upon  the  backs  of  their 
steeds.  The  East  Goths  were  put  to  rout.  The  West 
Goths  also  were  hard  pressed,  and  craved  the  privilege 
of  crossing  the  Danube,  to  find  refuge  within  Roman  ter- 
ritory. Ulfilas,  the  apostle  of  Christianity  among  them, 
carried  their  request  before  the  Emperor  Valens,  and 
obtained  a  favorable  answer.  The  way,  having  been 
once  opened,  was  not  easily  closed  up  again.  The  Goths, 
finding  themselves  ungenerously  treated  and  short  of 
supplies,  felt  no  longer  obliged  to  keep  the  peace,  and 
precipitated  a  war  which  overwhelmed  Valens.  The 
skill  and  energy  of  the  great  Theodosius  availed  indeed 
to  confine  them  within  bounds,  but  not  to  crush  their 
power.  The  peace,  too,  which  he  was  instrumental  in 
establishing,  lasted  but  a  short  space.  Incited  by  a  dis- 
appointed councillor  at  Constantinople,  the  West-Gothic 
king,  Alaric,  started  upon  a  plundering  expedition 
(395-396).  Greece  was  ravaged,  and  its  fairest  shrines 
were  laid  waste.  A  first  incursion  of  Alaric  into  Italy 
was  repulsed ;  but  during  his  second  invasion,  the  capi- 
tal of  the  West  fell  before  his  assaults  (410).  Alaric 
died  soon  after ;  and  the  Goths,  retiring  into  Gaul, 
founded  a  kingdom  covering  the  southwestern  part  of 
that  province,  and  extending  into  Spain. 

Nearly  contemporary  with  the  invasions  of  Alaric,  in- 
roads were  made  by  several  tribes  akin  to  the  Goths ; 
namely,  Vandals,  Suevi,  Alani,  and  Burgundians.  The 
first  three  of  these  tribes  settled  in  the  Spanish  penin- 
sula ;  the  last,  in  the  territory  bordering  the  Alps  and 
the  Upper  Rhine.    Like  the  Goths,  they  embraced  Chris- 

2 


18  THE  MEDIjEVAL   CHURCH. 

tianity  in  the  form  of  Arianism.  The  Burgundians,  it 
is  true,  may  have  been  instructed  for  an  interval  in  the 
Catholic  faith  ;  but  as  a  body  they  came  to  espouse 
Arianism,  and  adhered  to  the  same  till  the  sixth  century. 
In  429  the  Vandals,  under  their  leader,  Genseric,  crossed 
into  North  Africa,  and  conquered  the  country.  To  sever 
more  effectually  the  bond  of  connection  between  Africa 
and  the  Roman  Empire,  they  sought  to  make  Arianism 
completely  dominant,  and  so  assailed  the  Catholics,  who 
refused  to  be  converted,  with  a  severe  persecution.  In 
the  fourth  decade  of  the  sixth  century,  Belisarius,  the 
renowned  general  of  Justinian,  put  an  end  to  the  Arian 
rule ;  and  hy  the  close  of  the  next  century,  Catholic 
and  Arian  alike,  throughout  the  whole  region  of  North 
Africa,  had  been  overpowered  by  the  Mohammedans. 

Near  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century,  the  Huns  were 
again  the  cause  of  a  great  commotion.  In  an  over- 
whelming mass  they  poured  through  the  region  of  the 
Rhine,  leaving  death  and  desolation  in  their  track.  At 
the  terrible  battle  of  Chalons  on  the  Marne  ^  (451),  they 
received  at  the  hands  of  Goths,  Franks,  and  Gauls  a 
severe  chastisement,  but  were  not  prevented  from  con- 
tinuing their  devastating  march.  Many  cities  of  Italy 
shared  the  fate  of  those  upon  the  banks  of  the  Rhine. 
Rome  itself  seemed  exposed  to  inevitable  ruin.  But 
the  ruthless  chief,  who  feared  no  instrument  of  war, 
was  turned  back  by  a  religious  dread  reinforced  by  the 

1  Thomas  Hodgkin  remarks  on  the  place  of  the  encounter :  "  Pos- 
terity has  chosen  to  call  it  the  battle  of  Chalons,  but  there  is  good 
reason  to  think  that  it  was  fought  fifty  miles  distant  from  Chalons-sur- 
Marne,  and  that  it  would  be  more  correctly  named  the  battle  of  Troyes, 
or,  to  speak  with  complete  accuracy,  the  battle  of  Mery-sur-Seine." 
(Italy  and  her  Invaders,  vol.  ii.  p.  138.) 


THE  BARBARIAN  TRIBES.  19 

intercessions  of  the  Pope.  ''  He  was  admonished,"  says 
Gibbon,  '^  by  his  friends  as  well  as  by  his  enemies,  that 
Alaric  had  not  long  survived  the  conquest  of  the  Eternal 
Cit}^  His  mind,  superior  to  real  danger,  was  assaulted 
by  imaginary  terrors.  The  pressing  eloquence  of  Leo,  his 
majestic  aspect  and  sacerdotal  robes,  excited  the  venera- 
tion of  Attila  for  the  spiritual  father  of  the  Christians. 
The  apparition  of  the  two  apostles,  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul,  who  menaced  the  barbarian  with  instant  death  if 
he  rejected  the  prayer  of  their  successor,  is  one  of  the 
noblest  legends  of  ecclesiastical  tradition.  The  safety 
of  Rome  might  deserve  the  interposition  of  celestial 
beings ;  and  some  indulgence  is  due  to  a  fable  which 
has  been  represented  by  the  pencil  of  Raphael  and  the 
chisel  of  Algardi."  ^  Attila  retired,  and  died  beyond 
the  Danube  soon  after.  His  retreat,  however,  did  not 
save  the  Italian  capital  from  the  hand  of  the  spoiler. 
Immediately  after  his  departure,  the  Arian  Vandals  from 
North  Africa,  bearing  hearts  less  placable  than  that  of 
the  heathen  warrior,  glutted  themselves  with  the  pillage 
of  Rome  (455);  sparing  indeed  the  buildings,  but  car- 
rying off  such  treasures  as  they  could  gather  together  in 
the  space  of  fourteen  days. 

By  these  repeated  strokes  of  barbarian  fury  the  Ro- 
man Empire  in  the  West  was  reduced  to  a  feeble  and 
tottering  power.  It  only  needed  another  blow  to  com- 
plete the  downfall.  In  476  that  blow  was  given. 
Odoacer,  leader  of  the  German  troops  in  the  Roman 
service,  and  himself  a  German,  put  aside  the  shadow  of 

1  Chapter  xxxv.  See  Jordanes,  Historia  de  Getarum  sive  Gothorum 
Origine  et  Eebus  Gestis,  cap.  xlii.  (apud  Muratori,  Rerum  Italicarum 
Scriptores,  torn.  i.). 


20  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

the  Csesars,  which  was  then  holding  the  imperial  scep- 
tre. There  was  no  one  now  in  the  West  bearing  the 
imperial  name,  for  Odoacer  styled  himself  simply  King 
of  Italy. 

After  ruling  twelve  or  thirteen  years,  Odoacer  found 
himself  confronted  by  a  powerful  rival,  as  Theodoric 
with  a  great  multitude  of  East  Goths  pressed  forward 
into  Italy.  The  stout  walls  of  Ravenna  enabled  him 
indeed  to  keep  the  invaders  at  bay  for  several  years,  but 
at  length  he  was  obliged  to  succumb.  Theodoric  ruled 
as  a  wise  and  capable  prince,  and  the  Ostrogothic  king- 
dom which  he  founded  flourished  till  the  middle  of  the 
next  century.  It  was  then  overthrown  by  the  generals 
of  Justinian,  and  the  exarchate  of  Ravenna,  as  a  depen- 
dency of  the  Eastern  Empire,  was  established  in  its 
place.  A  speedy  rival  of  the  exarchate  appeared  in  a 
new  swarm  of  invaders,  destined  to  take  a  conspicuous 
part  in  Italian  history,  the  Lombards.  Northern  Italy 
fell  a  prey  to  them,  and  the  previous  occupants  of  the 
soil  were  reduced  to  a  servile  rank.  The  Lombards 
came  as  Arians.  The  presence  of  such  neighbors  was 
one  of  the  difficulties  which  faced  Gregory  the  Great 
as  he  ascended  the  papal  throne. 

How  different  the  field  of  vision  here  from  that  which 
lay  before  us  at  the  opening  era  of  Christianity !  In- 
stead of  a  world  united  under  a  single  rule,  and  every- 
where displaying  the  tokens  of  culture  and  civilized 
skill,  we  have  an  empire  broken  into  fragments,  law 
giving  place  to  disorder,  and  deepening  shadows  of 
ignorance  spreading  over  broad  regions.  To  be  sure, 
some  of  the  invading  tribes  were  not  in  a  state  of  sheer 
barbarism.     Contact  with  the  Empire  had  given  them  a 


THE  BARBARIAN  TRIBES.  21 

measure  of  civilization.  Still,  on  the  whole,  the  new- 
comers were  rude  successors  to  Roman  rule.  An  ob- 
server, looking  out  upon  the  destruction  wrought  and 
the  commotions  still  in  progress,  could  hardly  refrain 
from  gloomy  reflections  over  the  prospects  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion. 

The  prospects,  in  truth,  had  their  shadowed  side. 
The  rudeness  and  credulity  of  barbarism  might  be  ex- 
pected to  offer  a  fine  field  for  the  growth  of  superstition. 
If  contact  with  classic  heathenism  had  already  given 
to  Christianity  a  certain  tinge  of  polytheism,  it  might 
be  expected  that  this  phase  would  not  be  eliminated,  but 
rather  increased,  by  the  tastes  of  tribes  which  had  been 
accustomed  to  a  multitude  of  gods.  On  various  points 
it  might  be  expected  that  fantasy  would  get  the  better 
of  criticism,  and  that  extravagant  views,  especially  when 
reinforced  by  the  interests  of  prominent  parties,  would 
command  a  ready  suffrage.  It  would  not  be  surprising 
if,  under  some  of  the  current  beliefs  and  customs  of 
later  times,  a  close  scrutiny  should  discern  the  image  of 
the  old  barbaric  faith  and  practice.  And  this  is  un- 
doubtedly the  case.  For  example,  in  some  of  the  me- 
diaeval representations  we  find  unmistakable  indications 
of  a  transference  to  the  devil  of  features  and  doings  that 
were  formerly  connected  with  the  gods.  Legends  re- 
specting a  league  with  the  devil  took  shape  in  certain 
particulars  from  the  old  mythology.  ""  That  the  devil," 
says  Wilhelm  Miiller,  "  in  such  legends  frequently  took 
the  place  of  the  heathen  god  appears  from  this,  that  an 
offering,  particularly  of  fowls,  must  be  brought  to  the 
same  at  the  cross-ways,  these  old  sacrificial  sites,  in 
order  to  obtain  his  help."     The  same  writer  notes  many 


22  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

later  customs  which  reveal  a  trace  of  the  old  heathen 
practice.  For  instance,  corresponding  to  the  heathen 
custom  of  carrying  the  god  or  his  symbol  around  a  field 
in  order  to  make  it  fruitful,  we  have  the  practice  of  the 
Christian  Germans  in  carrying  around  the  image  or 
symbol  of  a  saint  for  the  same  purpose. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  outlook  may  be  regarded 
as  containing  highly  encouraging  features.  The  bar- 
barians were  a  sturdy  race.  They  brought  in  a  fresh 
life,  and  an  intense  love  of  personal  liberty.  Herein 
was  a  prophecy  of  a  better  ultimate  development  than 
could  come  from  a  declining  civilization,  however  pol- 
ished and  refined.  The  bounding  life,  and  zest  for  per- 
sonal liberty,  may  have  wrought  destructively  at  first ; 
but  they  were  at  the  same  time  a  pledge  that  things 
should  not  remain  at  a  stand-still,  that  erelong  a  con- 
structive work  should  be  begun,  that  freedom  in  action 
should  be  followed  by  freedom  in  thought,  that  a  vigor- 
ous canvassing  of  the  whole  field  of  Christianity  should 
finally  be  undertaken  in  spite  of  any  and  every  barrier 
which  tradition  and  priestcraft  might  have  interposed. 
In  fine,  Christianity  encountered  in  the  barbarism  of 
these  vigorous  tribes  a  less  permanent  obstacle  than  it 
would  have  met  in  the  inertia  of  a  worn-out  civili- 
zation. Under  the  conditions,  the  purity  of  primitive 
Christianity  could  probably  be  reached  more  speedily 
through  the  forests  of  Germany  than  along  the  high- 
ways of  Rome. 


I 


CHAPTER  II. 

EXTENSION   OF   CHRISTIAN  TERRITORY   BY   MISSIONARIES. 

N  the  latter  part  of  the  sixth  century,  a  great  mis- 
sionary  era  was  inaugurated.  Men  taking  their 
lives  in  their  hands  began  to  penetrate  the  encompass- 
ing circle  of  heathenism.  One  field  after  another  was 
gained;  but  it  was  several  centuries  before  Europe  as 
a  whole  had  passed  under  the  dominion  of  Christianity. 
The  way  of  victory  was  at  the  same  time  a  way  of 
hardship  and  martyrdom. 

A  conspicuous  part  in  this  aggressive  movement  was 
taken  by  the  Roman  bishop  and  the  monks,  the  one 
serving  as  the  patron  and  the  others  as  the  agents^  of 
the  work.  A  genuine  Christian  zeal  cannot  be  denied 
to  either  party.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  have  been 
perfectly  evident  to  the  Roman  bishop  that  his  patron- 
age of  missions  would  be  a  very  effectual  means  of 
extending  his  power. 

Amono"  the  monks  the  most  noted  evangelists  came 
from  the'' cloisters  of  Great  B.ntain  and  Ir_eland.  The 
latter  country  won  early  the  praise  of  exemplary  zeal, 
both  for  the  cause  of  learning  and  of  missions.  As  the 
night  of  ignorance  was  deepening  in  other  quarters,  the 
light  of  a  liberal  scholarship  shone  in  the  Irish  cloisters. 
"  At  a  time  when  Pope  Gregory  the  Great  was  obliged 


24  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

to  acknowledge  that  he  was  ignorant  of  Greek,  there 
were  ministers  in  Ireland  quite  competent  to  read  the 
New  Testament  in  the  original  language.  In  the  larger 
monasteries,  the  disciples  were  instructed  in  mathemat- 
ics and  astronomy,  as  well  as  in  the  ancient  classics."  ^ 
A  striking  memorial  of  the  eminent  place  which  Ireland 
then  occupied  in  the  religious  world  is  given  in  the 
name,  insula  sanctorum^  with  which  the  land  was  hon- 
ored. All  this,  however,  is  not  to  be  taken  as  evi- 
dence of  any  ideal  state  of  society.  Alongside  of 
marked  exhibitions  of  learning  and  piety,  there  was 
much  of  turbulence.  Bloody  feuds  were  of  frequent 
occurrence. 

The  first  of  the  pioneers  from  this  field  whose  labors 
are  recorded  was  Columba,  or  Columbkille.  He  was 
of  royal  birth,  commanding  presence,  and  effective  ad- 
dress. Possessing  the  generous  impulses  native  to  his 
countrymen,  he  possessed  also,  as  it  would  seem,  their 
hot  temper.  By  some  it  is  supposed  that  he  precipi- 
tated a  war,  and  at  the  instance  of  the  defeated  sov- 
ereign was  excommunicated  by  an  assembly  of  clergy. 
The  fact  of  excommunication  is  quite  certain,  since  it 
is  mentioned  by  so  admiring  a  biographer  as  Adamnan.^ 
In  563  Columba  set  out  for  Scotland.  As  yet  Chris- 
tianity had  gained  but  a  part  of  this  country.  Ninian, 
son  of  a  British  prince,  had  made  converts,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  fifth  century,  among  the  southern  Picts, 
who  dwelt  between  the  Frith  of  Forth  and  the  Gram- 
pians. There  was  also  a  settlement  of  Scots,  who  had 
received  Christian    teaching,  on  the  west  coast.     But 

-  W.  D.  Killen,  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland. 
2  Life  of  St.  Columba,  edited  by  William  Reeves. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  25 

the  northern  Picts  were  still  heathen.  With  tlie  ap- 
proval of  Conall,  the  King  of  the  Scots,  a  small  island 
lying  off  the  coast  was  given  to  Columba,  and  made 
the  seat  of  a  cloister  destined  to  stand  for  centuries  as 
a  missionary  fortress  and  training  school.  This  rocky 
island  scarce  exceeded  three  miles  in  length  by  one  and 
a  half  in  breadth.  In  the  language  of  the  country  it 
was  called  Hy.  The  name  lona,  by  which  it  is  com- 
monly known,  is  regarded  by  Reeves  as  a  corruption  of 
loua  used  as  an  adjective  before  insula.  By  the  labors 
of  Columba  the  Picts  were  converted,  and  their  king 
seems  to  have  confirmed  the  grant  which  was  made  by 
Conall.  Though  but  an  abbot  in  rank,  the  founder  of 
lona  was  really  the  ecclesiastical  sovereign  of  the  adja- 
cent territory.  His  successors  also  stood,  in  point  of 
jurisdiction,  above  the  bishops  of  the  country,  —  a  pecu- 
liar feature  in  church  polity,  which  will  again  command 
our  attention.  As  is  apparent  from  this  item,  the  com- 
munity of  lona,  like  the  early  Celtic  churches  gener- 
ally, had  little  notion  of  any  supremacy  in  the  Roman 
bishop.  They  did  not  regard  themselves  as  bound  to 
follow  the  Roman  model. 

Columba  died  while  on  his  knees  at  the  altar,  in  the 
year  597.  Authentic  history  records  little  concerning 
him ;  still,  we  shall  not  be  at  fault  in  concluding  from 
the  work  that  he  accomplished,  and  the  impression  that 
he  made,  that  he  was  a  man  of  unusual  force  of  charac- 
ter. Like  Patrick,  and  Martin  of  Tours,  he  was  a 
strong  personality,  and  as  such  received  the  inevitable 
tribute  of  mediaeval  admiration,  a  great  throng  of 
legends  having  the  one  object  of  glorifying  their  hero. 
The  life  written  by  Adamnan,  the  ninth  abbot  of  lona, 


26  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

a  century  after  the  death  of  Columba,  makes  him  the 
agent  in  a  constant  succession  of  miracles.  Even  down 
to  the  present  century,  the  virtue  of  the  name  of  Co- 
lumba has  continued  to  be  celebrated  in  the  Highlands 
of  Scotland.  The  Roman  Catholic  Highlander  about 
to  set  out  upon  a  journey  utters  the  invocation,  "  May 
the  servant  of  Columba  of  the  cell  protect  and  bring 
me  safe  home."  A  small  pebble  from  lona,  called  the 
stone  of  Icolmkill,  is  vrorn  as  an  amulet.  At  least, 
such  customs  were  in  vogue  in  the  early  part  of  the 
century  .1 

In  the  ninth  century  the  primacy  passed  from  lona  to 
Dunkeld.  In  the  next  century  St.  Andrews  became 
the  ecclesiastical  metropolis  of  Scotland.  For  an  in- 
terval before,  as  well  as  after,  this  transfer,  we  meet 
with  an  order  bearing  the  name  of  Culdees.  They 
seem  to  have  been  quite  a  conspicuous  factor  in  the 
Scottish  Church  till  the  reign  of  Malcolm  Canmore  in 
the  eleventh  century,  when  the  marriage  of  this  king 
with  the  English  princess  Margaret  prepared  the  way 
for  the  predominance  of  the  English  regime.  Their 
name  probably  signifies  "  servants  of  God,"  the  Scottish 
term  Keledei  being  the  equivalent  of  the  Continental 
Deicolce.  Various  theories  have  been  entertained  as  to 
their  origin  and  characteristics.  "It  may  reasonably  be 
inferred,  that  the  Culdees  were  generally  the  successors 
of  the  family  of  lona  and  other  monastic  communities, 
under  a  new  name,  and  with  a  relaxed  discipline."^ 
In  certain  points  they  contradicted  the  very  notion  of 

1  John  Jamieson,  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Ancient  Culdees  of 
Zona. 

2  George  Grub,  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  27 

monasticism.  As  is  remarked  by  a  learned  authority, 
"  The  particuhir  Keledeaii  laxity  appears  to  have  been, 
that,  precisely  like  their  Irish  and  Welsh  congeners,  they 
gradually  lapsed  into  something  like  impropriators,  mar- 
ried, and  transmitting  their  church  endowments  as  if 
they  had  been  their  own  to  their  children,  but  retaining, 
at  any  rate  in  most  cases,  their  clerical  office  ;  although 
the  abbots,  as,  e.  g.,  at  Dunkeld  and  Abernethy,  be- 
came in  some  cases  mere  lay  lords  of  the  church  lands 
thus  misappropriated,  leaving  a  prior  to  be  the  spiritual 
superior."  ^  In  some  quarters  the  Culdees  have  been 
credited  with  quite  a  close  approximation  to  primitive 
Christianity ;  but  it  may  be  doubted  whether  in  the 
sum  total  of  their  beliefs  and  practices  they  were  much 
superior  to  the  average  Romanism  of  their  time. 

While  thus  the  surrounding  populations  were  being 
instructed  in  Christianity,  the  Anglo-Saxons  were  still 
in  the  bonds  of  their  heathenism.  The  intense  na- 
tional hatred  which  the  Britons  cherished  toward  them 
stood  in  the  way  of  missionary  effort  from  that  quarter. 
Indeed,  some  of  the  Britons  may  have  thought  of  get- 
ting even  with  their  conquerors,  as  has  been  charged 
against  them,  by  leaving  them  to  the  hopeless  doom  of 
the  unbaptized  and  the  unbelieving.  But  in  another 
quarter  the  agency  for  bringing  them  the  gospel  mes- 
sage was  being  prepared.  While  yet  an  abbot,  the 
Roman  Gregory  was  led  to  cherish_a  strong  interest  in 
the  Anglo-kSaxons.  The  occasion  which  first  directed 
his  attention  to  them  is  thus  described  by  Beda :  "  It  is 

1  Haddan  and  Stubbs,  Councils  and  Ecclesiastical  Documents  relating 
to  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  vol.  ii.  pt.  i.  pp.  175-182.  Compare  W.  F. 
^Skene,  Celtic  Scotland. 


28  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

reported  that  some  merchants,  having  just  arrived  at 
Rome,  on  a  certain  day  exposed  many  things  for  sale 
in  the  market-place,  and  abundance  of  people  resorted 
thither  to  buy.  Gregory  himself  went  with  the  rest ; 
and,  among  other  things,  some  boys  were  set  to  sale, 
their  bodies  white,  their  countenances  beautiful,  and 
their  hair  very  fine.  Having  viewed  them,  he  asked,  as 
is  said,  from  what  country  or  nation  they  were  brought ; 
and  was  told,  from  the  island  of  Britain,  whose  inhab- 
itants were  of  such  personal  appearance.  He  again  in- 
quired whether  those  islanders  were  Christians,  or  still 
involved  in  the  errors  of  paganism ;  and  was  informed 
that  they  were  pagans.  Then  fetching  a  deep  sigh  from 
the  bottom  of  his  heart,  '  Alas !  what  pity,|  said  he, 
'  that  the  author  of  darkness  is  possessed  of  men  of 
such  fair  countenances ;  and  that,  being  remarkable  for 
such  graceful  aspects,  their  minds  should  be  void  of  in- 
ward grace.'  He  therefore  again  asked  what  was  the 
name  of  that  nation,  and  was  answered  that  they  were 
called  Angles.  '  Right,'  said  he ;  '  for  they  have  an 
angelic  face,  and  it  becomes  such  to  be  co-heirs  with  the 
angels  in  heaven.'  "  ^ 

Once  seated  upon  the  papal  throne,  Gregory  im- 
proved his  opportunity  to  give  the  Christian  religion  to 
the  people  who  had  so  effectually  enlisted  his  sympa- 
thies. In  596  he  sent  out  the  Roman  Abbot  Augustine, 
with  several  companions.  Finding  that  their  hearts 
began  to  sink  within  them  over  the  unknown  perils  of 
the  journey,  and  of  the  strange  land  for  which  they 
had  started,  he  revived  their  courage  by  his  paternal 
exhortations,   and   aided   them   so  far   as  possible   by 

1  Book  i.  chap.  1, 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  29 

letters  of  commendation  to  the  princes  and  nobles  of 
Gaul. 

A  welcome  had  been  prepared  for  the  missionary  llj^tJy^ 
party  by  the  marriage  of  Ethelbert,  king  of  Kent,  to 
the  Frankish  princess  Bertha,  who  came  to  the  English 
court  as  a  Christian,  and  was  allowed  to  take  with  her, 
as  a  religious  guardian,  the  Bishop  Luidhard.  The  king 
received  Augustine  and  his  companions  with  suitable 
kindness,  though  taking  the  precaution  to  have  the  first 
meeting  in  the  open  air,  where  he  would  be  less  exposed 
to  any  instrument  of  magic  which  the  strangers  might 
have  brought  with  them.  In  response  to  their  repre- 
sentations he  said,  "  Your  words  and  promises  are  very 
fair ;  but  as  they  are  new  to  us,  and  of  uncertain  im- 
port, I  cannot  approve  of  them  so  far  as  to  forsake  that 
which  I  have  so  long  followed  with  the  whole  English 
nation.  But  because  you  are  come  from  far  into  my 
kingdom,  and,  as  I  conceive,  are  desirous  to  impart  to 
us  those  things  which  you  believe  to  be  true,  and  most 
beneficial,  we  will  not  molest  you,  but  give  you  favor- 
able entertainment,  and  take  care  to  supply  you  with 
your  necessary  sustenance ;  nor  do  we  forbid  you  to 
preach,  and  gain  as  many  as  you  can  to  your  religion."  ^ 
Erelong  the  king  added  to  his  courteous  reception  of 
the  ambassadors  of  the  new  faith  his  personal  adhesion 
to  that  faith.  Great  numbers  followed Tis  example, 
insomuch  that  Augustine  is  said  to  have  baptized  ten 
thousand  on  a  single  occasion.  The  work  of  organiza- 
tion kept  pace  with  that  of  conversion.  According  to 
the  plan  of  Gregorj^,  two  metropolitan  sees  were  to  be 
constituted,  one  having  its  seat  at  London,  and  the 
1  Beda,  i.  25. 


80  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH, 

other  at  York.  But  neither  the  Pope  nor  the  mission- 
ary saw  this  scheme  fulfilled.  Cantei'bury  took  the 
place  of  London,  and  York  failed  as  yet  to  obtain  the 
metropolitan  dignity.  Before  the  death  of  Augustine, 
in  G05,  Christianity  had  secured  a  good  footing  in  Kent. 
There  was  indeed  a  reaction  to  heathenism  under  the 
next  king,  and  evidence  was  given  that  the  number  of 
baptisms  was  no  accurate  measure  of  the  genuine  con- 
versions. But  the  lapse  was  only  temporary.  The 
current  had  set  in  the  direction  of  the  Christian  faith. 

In  Northumberland,  as  in  Kent,  a  Christian  princess 
served  as  a  forerunner  of  missionary  work.  This  was 
Ethelberga,  daughter  of  Ethelbert.  On  her  marriage 
with  King  Edwin,  she  was  guaranteed  the  free  use  of  her 
religion,  and  was  allowed  to  retain  the  Bishop  Paulinus. 
For  a  time  Edwin  was  proof  against  all  persuasions ; 
but  at  length  he  so  far  yielded  as  to  call  a  council 
of  his  chief  men  to  consider  the  question  of  accepting 
Christianity.  The  deliberations  of  the  council  showed 
that  there  were  minds  which  had  become  dissatisfied 
with  the  old  religion.  Even  Coifi,  the  chief  of  the  hea- 
then priests,  testified  against  his  former  faith,  alleging 
that  the  gods  had  made  manifest  their  impotence  in 
their  failure  to  aid  their  most  zealous  votaries,  and  ad- 
vising to  try  the  benefits  of  the  new  religion.  "  Another 
of  the  king's  chief  men,  approving  of  his  words  and 
exhortations,  presently  added,  '  The  present  life  of 
man,  O  king,  seems  to  me,  in  comparison  of  that  time 
which  is  unknown  to  us,  like  the  swift  flight  of  a 
sparrow  through  the  room  wherein  you  sit  at  supper 
in  winter,  with  commanders  and  ministers,  enjoying  the 
warmth  of  the  fire  in  the  hearth,  whilst  the  storms  of 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  81 

rain  or  snow  prevail  abroad ;  the  sparrow,  I  say,  flying 
in  at  one  door,  and  immediately  out  at  another,  whilst 
he  is  within,  is  safe  from  the  wintry  storm ;  but  after  a 
short  space  of  fair  weather,  he  immediately  vanishes 
out  of  your  sight  into  the  dark  winter  from  which  he 
had  emerged.  So  this  life  of  man  appears  for  a  short 
space ;  but  of  what  went  before,  or  what  is  to  follow, 
we  are  utterly  ignorant.  If,  therefore,  this  new  doctrine 
contains  something  more  certain,  it  seems  justly  to  de- 
serve to  be  followed.'  The  other  elders  and  king's 
counsellors,  by  Divine  inspiration,  spoke  to  the  same 
effect."  1  Coming  to  minds  thus  prepared,  the  message 
of  Paulinus  could  not  longer  fail  of  acceptance.  "  King 
Edwin,"  as  Beda  adds,  "with  all  the  nobility  of  the 
nation,  and  a  large  number  of  the  common  sort,  re- 
ceived the  faith  and  the  washing  of  regeneration,  in  the 
eleventh  year  of  his  reign,  which  is  the  year  of  the 
incarnation  of  our  Lord  627."  Triumph,  however,  was 
soon  mixed  with  defeat.  Penda,  the  heathen  king  of 
Mercia,  and  the  Briton  Ceadwalla,  combining  against 
Edwin,  compassed  his  downfall.  For  an  interval  Nor- 
thumberland fell  a  prey  to  anarchy  and  pillage.  The 
Roman  clergy  were  driven  out,  and  heathenism  began 
to  revive.  But  the  valor  and  wisdom  of  the  good 
prince  Oswald  came  to  the  rescue.  Anxious  to  restore 
the  ascendency  of  Christianity,  Oswald  appealed  to 
lona  for  missionary  laborers.  Corman,  the  first  who 
was  sent,  was  lacking  in  the  art  of  gentle  and  persua- 
sive address.  The  Northumbrians  answered  his  auster- 
ity with  so  much  indifference,  that  he  concluded  that 
nothing  could  reclaim  them  from  their  obduracy,  and 

1  Beda.  ii.  13. 


32  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH, 

left  the  field  in  disgust.  As  he  made  his  report  to  the 
fraternity,  a  voice  was  heard  remarking,  "  It  seems  to 
me,  brother,  that  you  have  been  too  severe  with  your 
unlearned  hearers,  in  that  you  did  not,  conformably  to 
the  apostolic  discipline,  give  them  the  milk  of  more 
gentle  doctrine,  till,  having  been  gradually  nourished  by 
the  word  of  God,  they  should  be  able  to  receive  more 
advanced  teachings,  and  to  practise  God's  sublimer 
precepts."  ^  All  ej^es  were  turned  upon  the  speaker. 
With  unanimous  consent  he  was  fixed  upon  as  the 
proper  agent  to  gain  access  to  the  closed  hearts  of  the 
Anglo-Saxons.  The  result  justified  the  wisdom  of  their 
choice ;  for  Aidan,  as  Bishop  of  Lindisfarne,  proved 
himself  a  man  who  was  wise  to  win  souls  and  a  faithful 
shepherd  of  the  sheep.  Beda,  while  he  could  not  for- 
get that  Aidan  was  out  of  accord  with  Rome  on  the 
time  of  celebrating  Easter,  could  not  at  the  same  time 
restrain  his  admiration  for  the  saintly  life  and  character 
of  the  man,  "  his  love  of  peace  and  charity ;  his  con- 
tinence and  humility  ;  his  mind  superior  to  anger  and 
avarice,  and  despising  pride  and  vainglory  ;  his  industry 
in  keeping  and  teaching  the  heavenly  commandments ; 
his  diligence  in  reading  and  watching;  his  authority  be- 
coming a  priest  in  reproving  the  haughty  and  powerful, 
and  at  the  same  time  his  tenderness  in  comforting  the 
afflicted  and  relieving  the  poor."  ^  Among  the  success- 
ors of  Aidan,  Cuthbert,  a  native  of  Northumberland, 
won  an  enthusiastic  esteem.  Beda  recounts  how  an 
angelic  brightness  was  wont  to  come  into  his  face  as 
he  was  enforcing  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  and  how  he 
delighted  in  particular  to  teach  the  ignorant  and  bar- 

1  Beda,  iii.  5.  2  Book  iii.  chap.  17. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  33 

barous  people  in  remote  and  inaccessible  places  seated 
high  up  amid  craggy  and  uncouth  mountains.^ 

From  Kent  and  Northumberland,  Christianity  spread 
into  the  adjacent  regions.  Before  the  close  of  the 
seventh  century  it  had  become  well  established  in  all 
theTmgdoms  of  the  Anglo-Saxons.  The  people  of 
Sussex,  owing  perhaps  to  the  fact  that  their  land  was 
cut  off  from  communication  with  other  sections  by 
downs  and  marshes,  were  the  last  to  become  evangel- 
ized. A  principal  instrument  in  their  conversion  was 
Wilfrid,  the  most  accomplished  of  the  native  English 
cle"rgy  in  his  time,  but  who  from  some  cause  earned 
much  ill-will  from  those  in  power,  and  led  a  life 
in  which  preferment  and  persecution  were  strangely 
mixed. 

The  missionaries  from  Rome  brought  with  them,  very 
naturally,  a  preference  for  Roman  customs.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Sci^ts  and  Britons  —  who  in  their  loose 
connection  with  Rome  had  developed  some  divergent 
customs,  especially  on  the  time  of  celebrating  Easter, 
the  form  of  the  tonsure,  and  certain  points  in  the  bap- 
tismal ceremonial — cherished  quite  a  stubborn  prefer- 
ence for  their  peculiarities.  The  differences  in  them- 
selves were  of  no  vital  moment :  still,  they  had  quite  a 
decided  practical  bearing,  inasmuch  as  they  involved 
the  question  of  obligation  to  conform  to  the  Roman 
model.  As  early  as  the  time  of  Augustine,  the  Easter 
question  became  an  occasion  of  dispute  and  heart-burn- 
ings. The  drift  was  naturally  in  favor  of  the  Roman 
custom,  since  Rome  had  taken  the  initiative  in  planting 
the  mission.    In  the  synod  of  Whitby  in  664,  the  claims 

1  Book  iv.  chap.  27,  28.    Compare  his  Vita  S.  Guthberti,  cap.  ix.,  xvi. 

3 


34  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH, 

of  Rome  were  effectually  championed  by  Wilfrid.  The 
decision,  in  fact,  was  so  far  adverse  to  the  Scotch  prac- 
tice, that  its  chief  advocate  in  the  synod,  Colman,  Bishop 
of  Lindisfarne,  felt  obliged  to  lay  down  his  office,  as  he 
was  not  willing  to  surrender  the  ancestral  custom. 
The  vantage-ground  thus  obtained  was  well  improved 
by  Theodore,  who  was  sent  out  from  Rome  as  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  in  6G8.  Administering  his  office 
in  the  Roman  interest,  he  secured  the  ascendency  of 
the  papal  regime  in  the  English  Church.  By  716  the 
monks  of  lona  surrendered  so  far  as  the  special  customs 
in  question  were  concerned.  The  churches  in  Ireland 
had  generally  yielded  at  an  earlier  date.  Theodore,  who 
was  of  Greek  antecedents,  was  an  influential  patron  of 
learning.  From  him  came  the  initial  impulse  to  the 
culture  which  in  the  next  century  could  boast  such  dis- 
tinguished representatives  as  Beda  and  Alcuin. 

The  christianizing  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  gave 
to  their  peoples  a  catholic  outlook.  Their  thoughts  be- 
gan to  transcend  their  insular  position.  In  return  for 
the  tide  of  heathen  barbarism  which  had  swept  across 
the  Channel  to  their  shores,  they  now  began  to  feel  it 
their  behoof  to  send  back  a  tide  of  gospel  light  and  life 
to  the  still  unconverted  tribes  on  the  Continent. 

The  first  of  the  missionaries  to  cross  over  to  the  Con- 
tinental side  of  the  Channel  was  Columbanus,  an  Irish 
monk,  who  had  been  educated  in  the  cloister  of  Bangor. 
About  the  year  590  he  started  forth  with  twelve  young 
men  as  his  companions.  His  first  settlement  was  in  ter- 
ritory nominally  Christian,  but  still  sorely  in  need  of 
example  and  instruction  in  pious  living.  On  the  bor- 
ders of  Austrasia  and  Burgundy,  in  the  woody  moun- 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  35 

tains  of  the  Vosges,  he  gathered  the  numerous  disciples 
who  came  to  place  themselves  under  his  monastic  rule. 
The  fame  of  his  sanctity  endeared  him  to  the  people ; 
but  at  the  same  time  the  austere  piety  which  he  incul- 
cated, his  persistent  attachment  to  Irish  as  opposed  to 
Roman  customs,  and  his  fearless  rebuke  of  sin  in  high 
places,  made  him  obnoxious  to  many  of  the  clergy  and 
to  the  royal  family.  At  length  matters  were  brought 
to  a  crisis  by  his  uncompromising  opposition  to  the 
iniquities  of  the  Burgundian  king,  Thierry^  "  The  in- 
trepid abbot,  like  another  John  the  Baptist,  denounced 
the  vices  of  the  monarch,  and  sternly  condemned  the 
shameless  manner  in  which  he  lived  in  the  midst  of  his 
mistresses.  He  refused  to  bless  the  king's  children,  the 
fruits  of  his  amours  ;  declined  to  partake  of  the  viands 
of  a  royal  banquet  set  before  him  ;  and  threatened 
Thierry  with  excommunication.  The  prince,  under 
other  circumstances,  would  at  once  have  consigned  the 
man  who  acted  thus  to  the  hands  of  the  executioner  ; 
but  he  was  awed  by  the  sanctity  of  Columbanus,  and, 
irritated  as  he  was,  he  exclaimed  that  he  was  not  mad 
enough  to  give  him  the  crown  of  martyrdom.  He  merely 
commanded  him  to  be  dragged  from  his  convent,  and 
sent  back  to  Ireland.  The  officers  intrusted  with  the 
execution  of  these  orders  approached  the  abbot  on  their 
knees ;  and  so  greatly  did  the  mass  of  the  people 
venerate  him  for  his  piety,  that  he  was  conducted  in 
a  species  of  triumph  to  the  borders  of  Thierry's  do- 
minions." ^ 

Columbanus  was  brought  to  the  coast;  but  the  at- 
tempt to  ship  him  to  Ireland  miscarried,  and  he  was 
i  Killen,  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Ireland. 


36  THE  MEDIEVAL  CHURCH. 

allowed  to  go  the  way  of  his  choice.  We  find  him  next 
laboring  among  the  heathen  population  in  the  region  of 
Zurich,  and  a  little  later  at  Bregenz.  Anticipating  an 
outbreak  of  violence  in  the  latter  place,  he  crossed  over 
into  the  Lombard  territory  in  Italy,  and  founded  the 
celebrated  monastery  of  Bobbio,  near  Pavia. 

Among  the  writings  of  Columbanus,  his  letters  to  the 
Roman  Bishop  are  not  the  least  interesting.  Notwith- 
standing the  superabundance  of  complimentary  phrases 
which  they  contain,  their  undertone  bespeaks  a  man 
who  would  exercise  his  own  discretion  in  taking  com- 
mands from  Rome.^ 

As  Columbanus  proceeded  to  Italy,  his  most  dis- 
tinguished companion,  Gallus  (St.  Gall),  was  detained 
by  sickness.  Continuing  in  that  region,  he  founded  the 
monastery  which  bore  his  name,  and  labored  for  the 
conversion  of  the  Swiss  and  the  Swabians  till  his  death 
(640-650).     A  weird  storj^  symbolizes  the  impression 

1  The  freedom  with  which  he  addressed  Boniface  IV.  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  extracts  ;  — 

"  Vigila  itaque,  quaeso,  papa,  vigila;  et  iterum  dico :  vigila;  quia 
forte  non  bene  vigilavit  Vigilius,  quem  caput  scandali  isti  clamant,  qui 
vobis  culpam  injiciunt." 

"  Dolendum  enim  ac  defiendum  est,  si  in  sede  apostolica  fides  catholica 
non  tenetur." 

"  Roma  orbis  terrarura  caput  est  ecclesiarum,  salva  loci  dominicae 
resurrectionis  singulari  praerogativa,  et  ideo  sicut  magnus  honor  vester 
est  pro  dignitate  cathedrae,  ita  magna  cura  vobis  necessaria  est,  ut  non 
perdatis  vestram  dignitatem  propter  aliquam  perversitatem.  Tandiu 
enim  potestas  apud  vos  erit,  quandiu  recta  ratio  permanserit :  ille  enira 
certus  regni  coelorum  clavicularius  est,  qui  dignis  per  veram  scientiam 
aperit,  et  indignis  claudit.  Alioquin,  si  contraria  fecerit,  nee  aperire, 
nee  claudere  poterit." 

"  Rogo  vos,  quia  multi  dubitant  de  fidei  vestrae  puritate,  ut  cite  tol- 
latis  hune  naevum  de  sanctae  cathedrse  claritate."    (Epist.  v.) 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  37 

made  by  his  attack  upon  heathenism.  As  he  was  fish- 
ing one  silent  night  —  so  the  legend  runs  —  on  a  Swiss 
lake  near  his  monastery,  he  heard  a  voice  descending 
from  a  neighboring  peak.  It  was  the  Spirit  of  the 
Mountains  calling  upon  the  Spirit  of  the  Waters  to  join 
in  expelling  the  intruder.  The  Spirit  of  the  Waters 
rose  from  the  depths,  and  responded  to  the  summons  ; 
but  in  a  tone  of  failing  confidence,  as  of  one  confessing 
himself  baffled  by  the  prevailing  Name  which  the  in- 
truder was  perpetually  invoking. 

Others  followed  the  example  of  these  pioneers.  The 
Irish  Kilian  labored  in  Franconia  soon  after  the  middle 
of  the  seventh  century.  Toward  the  end  of  the  same 
century,  two  natives  of  England,  by  the  name  of  Hew- 
ald,  found  the  martyr-death  while  attempting  to  preach 
the  gospel  to  the  Saxons.  Some  converts  were  made 
among  the  Frisians  in  the  Netherlands  by  Wilfrid,  who 
was  unexpectedly  cast  upon  their  coast  by  a  storm  at 
sea,  as,  expelled  from  his  bishopric,  he  was  journeying 
to  Rome.  He  was  followed  in  the  field  by  WiUibrord, 
who  was  of  Anglo-Saxon  birth,  but  had  been  educated 
in  the  cloisters  of  Ireland.  Under  the  patronage  of 
Pepin,  Mayor  of  the  Palace,  he  was  able  to  achieve  a 
measure  of  success.^     WiUibrord  even  penetrated  into 

1  From  the  time  of  Wilfrid's  labors  (677-678)  to  719  the  opposition 
of  the  heathen  King  Radbod  was  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  progress  of 
Christianity  in  this  region.  One  ground  of  Radbod's  obstinate  adhe- 
rence to  heathenism  has  been  given  as  follows.  He  had  thoughts  of  bap- 
tism, and  had  already  approached  the  font  at  the  instance  of  Bishop 
Wulfram  of  Sens,  when  it  occurred  to  him  to  inquire  where  his  ancestors 
might  be  supposed  to  have  gone,  whether  to  the  Christian's  heaven  or  to 
hell.  The  Bishop  answered,  that,  inasmuch  as  they  had  died  unbaptized, 
they  had  undoubtedly  been  doomed  to  hell.  At  this,  Radbod  withdrew 
his  foot  from  the  font,  saying  that  he  could  not  dispense  with  the  society 


38  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH, 

Denmark ;  but  he  found  it  an  unpromising  field,  and 
could  make  no  other  gain  than  the  opportunity  to  edu- 
cate some  youths  whom  he  purchased  from  slavery. 
The  names  of  other  missionaries,  Irish,  English,  or 
Continental,  might  be  mentioned.  Not  a  few  of  them 
wrought  to  good  effect.  But  still  the  field  was  much 
broader  than  the  harvest.  No  extended,  well  organized 
church  had  been  founded  upon  German  soil.  The 
apostle  of  Gej;many  had  not  yet  appeared,  but  he  was 
already  in  training  in  the  country  which  had  supplied 
heroic  laborers  to  this  field. 

That  apostle  was  Winj^id,  or  Boniface  as  he  is  usually 
called.  He  was  born  in  680,  near  Crediton,  iu  Devon- 
shire, England.  Zeal  for  the  monastic  life  early  drove 
him  to  the  cloister,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  which 
at  first  he  encountered  from  his  father.  Having  passed 
his  thirtieth  year,  received  ordination  to  the  priesthood, 
and  been  honored  with  some  special  marks  of  confidence 
by  his  brethren,  he  began  to  turn  his  thoughts  towards 
the  missionary  field.  His  first  attempt  was  in  Frisia,  in 
716.  It  fell  at  an  unfortunate  juncture,  the  war  be- 
tween Charles  Martel  and  the  stubborn  heathen  King 
Radbod  leaving  little  opportunity  to  insinuate  Chris- 
tian teaching.  Forsaking  this  field  for  the  time  being, 
he  returned  to  England. 

of  his  forefathers  for  the  sake  of  the  Christian's  heaven  with  its  beggarly- 
contingent, —  "cum  parvo  nurnero  pauperum."  (Rettberg,  Kirchenge- 
schichte  Deutschlands,  Band  ii.  §  77.)  The  story  has  an  air  of  credi- 
bility, but  is  none  too  well  authenticated.  The  difficulty  involved  in  the 
eschatology  of  Wulfram  is  said  to  liave  been  ameliorated  by  Clemens  — 
an  Irish  missionary  in  Germany  whom  Boniface  brought  to  task  —  by 
the  supposition  that  the  preaching  of  Christ  in  Hades  applied  to  its 
inhabitants  generally. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES. 


39 


Boniface   now  determined  upon  a  new  point  of  de- 
parture in  his  enterprise.     Considering  that  the  sanction 
of  the  Roman  pontiff  would  add  weight  to  his  mission, 
he   proceeded  to  Rome  (719),  and  presented   himself 
before  Gregory  II.     The  Pope  gave  a  hearty  welcome 
to   his   sclieme,    and   sent  him  forward  with  his  com- 
mendations.     Boniface  selected  Thuringia  as  the  first 
scene  of  his  labors  ;  not  neglecting  meanwhile  to  confer 
with  Charles  Martel,  and  to  solicit  whatever  advantage 
might  be  derived  from  his  patronage.     Learning  that 
FrFsia,  on  account  of  the  death  of  Radbod,  had  become 
a  hopeful   field,  he   proceeded  thither,  and  for  three 
years     labored    in   connection   with   Willibrord.     The 
latter,  anticipating  that  his  labors  must  soon  come  to  a 
close,  expressed  the  earnest  desire  that  Boniface  should 
become  his  successor  in  the  bishopric.     The  honor,  how- 
ever,  was   modestly   declined.     Boniface  retraced   his 
course,  and  labored  in  Thuringia  and  Hessia.     A  report 
of  his  successes,  which  he  sent  to  Rome  in  723,  was 
answered  by  a  summons  thither  to  be  consecrated  to 
the  oface  of  bishop.     Returning  again  to  Germany,  he 
continued  Tor  a  series  of  years  in  the  successful  prose- 
cution of  the  work  of  converting  the  heathen.     Among 
the  Hessians,  a  bold  stroke  against  an  object  of  super- 
stition gained  him  many  converts.     Finding  that  it  was 
difficult  to  win  the  people  of  that  region  from  their  idol- 
atrous veneration  of  an  enormous  oak-tree  which  was 
esteemed  sacred  to  Thor,  the  god  of  thunder,  Boniface 
decided  to  lay  the  axe  to   the   tree.     The  awe-struck 
heathen  stood  around,  expecting  that  their  deity  would 
take  vengeance  upon  the  authors  of  the  sacrilege.   They 
only  saw'^the  tree  come  crashing  down,  and  riven  into 


40  THE  MEDIJ^VAL   CHURCH, 

four  pieces.  Of  these  Boniface  constriicted  an  oratorium 
and  dedicated  it  in  honor  of  St.  Peter.  Impressed  by 
such  a  palpable  indication  of  the  impotence  of  their 
gods,  many  of  the  heathen  turned  to  the  Christian  faith.^ 
We  may  judge  somewhat  respecting  the  measure  of 
success  which  attended  the  missionary,  from  the  report 
that  before  the  year  739  he  had  baptized  about  a  hun- 
dred thousand  converts.  Naturally  new  honors  came 
from  Rome  to  such  an  efficient  propagandist.  He  re- 
ceived the  pallium  of  an  archbishop  (some  years  before 
745,  when  he  fixed  his  metropolitan  seat  at  Metz),  and 
in  the  latter  part  of  his  career  exercised  extensive  pow- 
ers as  the  papal  vicar. 

Converting  the  Germans  to  Christianity  was  only  one 
part  of  the  work  of  Boniface.  He  was  the  organizer 
of  the  German  Church.  In  this  office  he  acted  as  the 
agent  of  Rome,  suppressing  dissenters,  and  adminis- 
tering with  continual  reference  to  the  Roman  model. 
Indeed,  it  must  be  allowed  that  his  conduct  was  con- 
formable to  the  strong  terms  of  the  oath  which  the 
Pope  exacted  from  him  as  he  was  promoted  to  the  epis- 
copal rank.  These  terms  were  as  follows  :  "  I,  Boniface, 
bishop  by  the  grace  of  God,  promise  to  thee,  O  blessed 
Peter,  prince  of  the  apostles,  and  to  thy  vicar  the 
blessed  Pope  Gregory,  and  his  successors,  through  the 
Father  and  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  insepara- 
ble Trinity,  and  this  most  sacred  body  of  thine,  to  show 
the  Catholic  faith  in  its  purity,  and  by  the  help  of  God 
to  persist  in  the  unity  of  that  faith,  and  in  no  way  to 
give  consent  to  anything  from  any  source  contrary  to 
the  unity  of  the   common  and  universal  Church,  but 

1  Willibaldus,  Vita  S  Bonifacii,  cap.  viii. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  41 

to  show  in  all  things  my  pure  faith  and  my  accord  with 
thee  and  the  needs  of  thy  Church,  and  with  thine  afore- 
said vicar  and  his  successors.  And  if  I  shall  find  prel- 
ates who  act  contrary  to  the  ancient  institutes  of  the 
holy  fathers,  I  will  have  no  communion  or  connection 
with  them,  but  rather,  if  able,  I  will  prohibit  the  same  ; 
otherwise,  I  will  report  faithfully  and  at  once  to  my 
apostolical  lord."  ^  But  while  Boniface  administered 
the  Church  of  Germany  in  the  spirit  of  fidelity  to  this 
oath,  his  allegiance  to  the  Pope  did  not  descend  into 
abjectness.  On  occasion,  he  could  complain,  in  very 
explicit  terms,  of  affairs  in  Rome  that  were  not  to  his 
mind. 

In  his  closing  years,  Boniface  found  a  useful  ally  in 
Pepin,  the  son  of  Charles  Martel.  It  has  commonly 
been  assumed  that  it  was  by  his  hand  that  Pepin  was 
anointed  king  at  Soissons  in  752 ;  but  some  of  the  most 
careful  of  recent  investigators  have  declared  that  this 
conclusion  is  without  good  foundation.^ 

The  last  enterprise  of  Boniface  was  in  the  field  to 
which  his  earliest  efforts  had  been  directed.  As  if  in 
testimony  that  his  ambition  was  for  souls  rather  than 
for  power,  he  resigned  his  place  as  the  primate  of  Ger- 
many, and  started  upon  a  fresh  attempt  to  evangelize 
the  Frisians.  Great  success  attended  his  labors.  Thou- 
sands, as  it  is  said,  gave  effectual  heed  to  his  message. 
On  an  appointed  day,  the  5th  of  June,  755,  Boniface 
was  to  meet  a  large  company  of  them  for  administering 
the  rite  of  confirmation.     But  instead  of  his  converts, 

1  Migne,  Patrologia,  torn.  Ixxxix. 

2  Hefele,  Conciliengeschichte,  §  373.  Compare  article  on  Boniface 
in  Herzog ;  Rettberg,  Kirchengeschichte  Deutschlands,  Band  i.  §  67. 


42  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

there  came  a  raging  crowd  of  heathen.  Boniface,  as 
he  saw  their  approach,  surmised  their  intent,  and,  stim- 
ulating the  hearts  of  his  companions  with  the  hope  of 
the  heavenly  rewards,  calmly  awaited  the  stroke  which 
should  bring  him  the  crown  of  martyrdom.  The  body 
of  the  great  missionary  found  repose  at  the  monastery 
of  Fulda,  one  of  the  notable  institutions  which  his  zeal 
and  tireless  activity  had  given  to  Germany. 

Of  all  the  tribes  bordering  on  Christian  territory^  the 
Saxons  presented  the  most  unyielding  front  to  Christian- 
ity. Their  hostile  attitude,  however,  admits  of  expla- 
nation. The  fact  that  their  rivals,  the  Franks,  were 
in  their  eyes  the  most  conspicuous  representatives  of 
Christianity,  was  not  helpful  to  their  prejudices.  As  a 
warlike  and  independent  race,  they  scorned  everything 
that  seemed  to  imply  an  unworthy  subjection.  They 
feared  that  the  Christian  yoke  would  be  a  yoke  of 
bondage.  And,  in  truth,  after  the  policy  of  Charle- 
magne became  manifest,  they  could  not  help  associating 
the  acceptance  of  Christianity  with  the  double  humilia- 
tion of  bowing  to  the  rule  of  the  Franks,  and  being 
compelled  to  pay  tithes  to  the  Church.  In  the  view  of 
Charlemagne,  the  refractory  Saxons,  who  yielded  to  his 
arms  only  to  gain  the  needed  respite  in  which  to  prepare 
for  a  fresh  outbreak,  could  not  be  effectually  subdued 
save  as  they  were  Christianized.  He  therefore  brought 
forward  the  sword  as  the  ally  of  the  preacher.  "  If 
Boniface,"  says  Milman,  "  was  the  Christian,  Charle- 
magne was  the  Mohammedan,  apostle  of  the  gospel." 
Indeed,  he  gave  the  Saxons  less  discretion  than  ofttimes 
was  conceded  by  the  devotees  of  the  Koran.  They 
were  given  to  understand  that  heathenism   was  abol- 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  43 

ished,  and  that  in  practising  its  rites  they  were  mak- 
ing themselves  liable  to  the  death  penalty.  Happily, 
in  connection  with  this  rude  means  of  propagandism, 
there  was  a  manifestation  of  a  better  spirit,  and 
the  use  of  better  ways  of  commending  the  gospel. 
Alcuin,  notwithstanding  his  intimate  relations  witli 
Charlemagne,  did  not  hesitate  to  criticise  his  methods, 
and  to  give  strong  empliasis  to  the  truth  that  only  by 
the  use  of  spiritual  weapons  could  heathenism  in  the 
hearts  of  its  votaries  be  effectually  vanquished.  More- 
over, there  were  noble  missionaries,  such  as  the  Frisian 
Liudger  and  the  Northumbrian  Willehad,  who  went 
among  the  Saxons,  and  labored  in  the  spirit  of  patience 
and  love.  The  first  years  of  the  ninth  century  may  be 
regarded  as  the  era  of  the  firm  establishment  of  Chris- 
tianity among  the  Saxons. 

The  Scandinavian  peoples  first  made  themselves  con- 
spicuous in  European  history  as  pirates  and  plunderers. 
The  stormy  sea  was  their  favorite  element.  Wherever 
the  wind  and  the  waves  prepared  them  a  way,  from  the 
Baltic  and  the  British  Isles  round  to  the  coasts  of  Italy, 
they  penetrated.  They  drove  their  barks  far  up  the 
rivers  and  streams,  so  that  many  inland  cities  fell  a 
prey  to  their  unsparing  hands.  Towns  as  far  inland  as 
Orleans,  Tours,  Chartres,  and  Bourges  found  no  secu- 
rity. Churches  and  monasteries  in  particular,  as  being 
least  protected  and  offering  most  booty,  were  pillaged 
and  destroyed  by  these  ruthless  invaders. 

Charlemagne,  who  foresaw  with  anguish  of  spirit 
these  desolating  inroads  from  the  North,  had  it  in  mind 
to  anticipate  them,  and  to  break  their  force  so  far  as 
possible  by  Christianizing  the  Scandinavians.     But  he 


44  THE  MEDIJ^VAL   CHURCH. 

was  not  able  to  carry  out  his  purpose.  First  under 
his  son  Louis  a  beginning  was  made  in  that  direction. 
It  was  only  a  beginning.  Neither  in  Denmark,  Nor- 
way, nor  Sweden  were  the  people  converted  in  a  day. 
Heathenism  was  parted  with  reluctantly.  Many  who 
became  at  length  willing  to  receive  Christ  as  an  object 
of  worship  were  disposed  still  to  retain  their  old  gods 
alongside  of  the  Christian's  Saviour.  Only  by  slow 
advances,  and  at  the  expense  of  many  reactions  to 
paganism,  did  Christianity  at  length  acquire  an  undis- 
puted title  to  these  lands. 

The  most  eminent  missionary  to  the  Scandinavians, 
the  Apostle  of  the  North  as  he  has  been  called,  was 
Anschar  (also  written  Ansgar  or  Anskar).  He  was 
preceded,  it  is  true,  by  Ebbo,  Archbishop  of  Rheims,  as 
respects  the  work  in  Denmark ;  but  this  prelate,  on  the 
whole,  appears  rather  as  a  patron  of  the  enterprise  than 
as  an  active  and  constant  participant  in  the  same. 
Anschar  began  his  labors  in  Denmark  in  826.  The 
seeming  preparation  for  his  coming  in  the  conversion 
of  the  King  Harald,  who  was  baptized  at  Mentz  in  the 
same  year,  proved  delusive.  The  Christianity  of  Har- 
akl  was  the  reverse  of  a  commendation  in  the  eyes  of 
the  people,  and  he  was  driven  from  his  kingdom.  The 
missionary,  too,  was  obliged  to  retire,  though  not  with- 
out the  satisfaction  of  having  gathered  some  fruit,  as  a 
number  of  the  people  had  been  converted,  and  youths 
purchased  from  slavery  had  been  initiated  into  the  ele- 
ments of  a  Christian  education.^ 

Soon  after  retiring  from  Denmark,  Anschar  found 
an  opportunity  to  plant  the  cross  in  Sweden.  On  his 
1  Rembertus,  Vita  Anscharii,  §  14. 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  45 

return  (about  832)  he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  arch- 
bishop, with  Hamburg  for  his  head-quarters.  At  the 
same  time  he  visited  Rome,  and  was  forwarded  in  his 
enterprise  by  the  Pope,  who  intrusted  to  him  and  to 
Ebbo  the  missions  of  the  North.  Many  clouds  swept 
over  his  chosen  field.  In  both  Sweden  and  Denmark, 
what  had  already  been  accomplished  seemed  destined  at 
times  to  be  completely  undone.  But  Anschar  was  a 
man  who  could  persevere  through  defeat  after  defeat. 
He  had  an  elastic  temper,  and  a  faith  which  triumphed 
over  the  most  dismal  surroundings.  As  the  Northern 
pirates  plundered  Hamburg,  burning  church,  cloister, 
and  library,  and  sending  him  forth  with  a  destitute 
band,  his  comment  was,  "  The  Lord  has  given,  and  the 
Lord  has  taken  away:  blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord.'"  ^  His  confidence  was  nurtured  by  a  pecidiarly 
intimate  communion  with  God.  It  is  recorded  that 
on  the  eve  of  great  crises  in  his  work,  when  every- 
thing seemed  to  hang  in  the  balance,  he  was  able  to 
come  from  the  place  of  wrestling  with  a  serene  and 
joyful  countenance,  as  one  who  felt  that  God  had 
given  him  the  inward  pledge  of  a  favorable  issue. 
Combining  with  his  steadfastness  a  certain  emotional 
warmth  and  liveliness  of  imagination,  he  was  well 
qualified  to  win  and  to  impress  men.  At  his  death, 
in  865,  Christianity  in  Sweden  and  Denmark  had  not, 
it  is  true,  been  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  serious 
reverses;  nevertheless,  it  had  acquired  a  hold  never 
thereafter  to  be  relinquished. 

In  Norway  a  beginning  was  made  for  the  Christian 
Church  near  the  middle  of  the  tenth_century,  by  the 
1  Ibid ,  §  22. 


46  THE  MEDIJ^VAL   CHURCH. 

King  Hacon,  who  had  received  a  Christian  education 
in  England.  Apprehending  that  he  could  not  easily 
surmount  the  force  of  heathen  prejudice,  he  waited  for 
a  season  before  publicly  recommending  the  acceptance 
of  Christianity.  Even  then  he  found  the  current  too 
strong  for  him.  In  order  to  retain  his  crown,  he  was 
obliged  to  participate  in  some  of  the  heathen  rites. 
But  at  heart  he  was  never  alienated  from  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  and  at  his  death  he  bitterly  deplored  his 
compliance  with  the  idolatrous  demands  of  his  sub- 
jects. Among  his  successors,  Olaf  Tryggvason  and 
Olaf  Haroldson  were  energetic,  not  to  say  violent 
and  tyrannical,  supporters  of  Christianity.  In  the 
eleventh  century  the  Christian  Church  became  firmly 
founded  in  Norway. 

Christianity  was  introduced  into  Iceland  in  the  last 
quarter  of  the  tenth  century.  The  first  evangelists 
were  the  Saxon  prelate  Friejjji'ich,  and  the  native  Thor- 
wald,  who  had  interested  Friedrich  in  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  the  Icelanders.  A  number  were  converted,  but 
the  ears  of  the  majority  seemed  closed  to  the  message 
of  the  missionaries.  After  their  departure,  new  labor- 
ers entered  the  field  under  the  patronage  of  Olaf  Trj^gg- 
vason.  By  the  year  1000,  public  opinion  had  been  so 
far  changed  that  Christianity  could  be  adopted  as  the 
public  religion,  though  the  practice  of  heathen  rites  in 
private  was  still  condoned. 

About  the  time  that  Iceland  adopted  Christianity,  it 
was  carried  also  to  Greenland,  which  had  recently  been 
colonized  by  Eric  the  Red.  Leif,  a  son  of  this  Eric, 
brought  the  first  Christian  priest  to  Greenland.  Refer- 
ences are  made  in  the  account  of  Leif,  and  several  of 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  47 

those  who  followed  him,  to  a  land  which  has  been  sup- 
posed by  some  to  be  identical  with  Massachusetts  and 
Rhode  Island.  That  the  American  coast  was  reached 
by  these  voyagers  is  entirely  credible,  but  the  point  of 
visitation  is  still  a  subject  for  inquiry.^ 

Among  the  Slavonian  races,  the  missionary  era  was 
the  ninth,  tenth,  and  eleventh  centuries.  Moravia  re- 
ceived the  gospel  in  the  latter  half  of  the  ninth  century, 
through  the  Greek  missionaries  Cyril  and  Methodius, 
the  latter  of  whom  was  awarded  the  metropolitan  dig- 
nity from  Rome.  The  movement  in  Moravia  reinforced 
the  beginning  which  had  been  made  shortly  before  in 
Bohemia.  From  Bohemia,  Christianity  was  carried, 
after  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century,  into  Poland. 

The  Bulgarians,  Slavonian  in  language  but  not  in 
race,  first  learned  of  Christianity  from  captives  taken  in 
the  early  part  of  the  ninth  century,  among  whom  was 
the  Bishop  of  Adrianople.  They  generally  clung,  how- 
ever, to  their  old  religion  till  after  the  middle  of  the 
same  century.  As  the  agency  by  which  they  were 
finally  persuaded  to  a  change  of  faith  came  from  Con- 
stantinople, it  was  but  natural  that  their  allegiance 
should  gravitate  thither.  However,  for  a  brief  interval 
there  was  a  serious  consideration  of  the  question  of 
union  with  Rome.  An  embassy  was  sent  thither  about 
865.  The  Pope  in  response  despatched  his  legates  into 
Bulgaria,  and  returned  answers  to  a  long  list  of  ques- 
tions which  had  been  propounded  respecting  worship 
and  life.  The  answers,  on  the  whole,  were  very  credit- 
able, and  such  as  might  have  been  expected  from  the 

^  See  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,  edited  by  Justin 
Winsor,  vol.  i. 


48  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

sagacious  pontiff,  Nicolas  I.,  who  then  occupied  the 
chair  of  Peter.  The  Bulgarians,  however,  were  not 
sufficiently  grateful  for  the  paternal  offices  of  the  Pope 
to  attach  themselves  to  Rome. 

If  a  statement  sent  forth  in  866  by  Photius,  Patriarch 
of  Constantinople,  could  be  taken  in  its  full  breadth, 
it  must  be  concluded  that  the  Russians  had  already 
in  large  numbers  embraced  the  gospel.  But  Photius 
wished  to  magnify  the  missionary  activity  of  the  East, 
and  so  in  all  probability  gave  too  high  a  color  to  his 
picture.  The  positive  establishment  of  Christianity 
in  Russia  was  more  than  a  century  later.  In  955,  as 
-we  read,  Olga,  widow  of  the  Russian  King  Igor,  was 
baptized  in  Constantinople  under  the  Christian  name 
Helena.  Her  grandson  Vladimir  was  baptized  in  988. 
Like  a  genuine  Russian  autocrat,  he  ordered  his  sub- 
jects to  follow  his  example.  His  son  and  successor 
was  also  a  zealous  patron  of  Christianity ;  and  churches, 
schools,  and  monasteries  were  multiplied  throughout 
the  country. 

The  Hungarians,  or  Magyars,  the  last  and  fiercest  of 
the  great  swarms  of  invaders  which  poured  through 
Central  Europe,  after  spreading  the  terror  of  their 
name  into  Southern  Gaul  and  Italy,  were  finally  con- 
fined by  the  victories  of  Henry  the  Fowler  and  Otho 
the  Great  (933,  955)  to  their  present  bounds  upon  the 
Danube.  Very  soon  thereafter  the  feeble  beginning  of 
Christianity,  which  had  been  received  through  connec- 
tion with  Constantinople,  was  supplemented  by  mission- 
aries from  the  German  Empire.  At  the  end  of  the  tenth 
century.  King  Stephen,  who  came  to  be  honored  by  the 
Hungarians  as  a  saint,  was   a  zealous  patron  of  the 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  49 

Christian  Church  among  his  subjects.  His  efforts,  how- 
ever, did  not  secure  to  it  such  a  place  in  the  affections 
of  the  people  as  to  prevent  a  subsequent  reaction  to 
heathenism. 

Thus,  from  the  time  that  the  conversion  of  Constan- 
tine  inaugurated  the  open  triumph  and  ascendency  of 
Cliristianity  in  the  Roman  Empire,  seven  centuries 
elapsed  before  all  of  the  prominent  tribes  of  Europe 
had  consented  to  take  the  Christian  name.  In  obscure 
quarters,  at  a  still  later  date,  there  were  professed 
heathen  within  European  bounds. 


CHAPTER  III. 

LIMITATION   OF  CHRISTIAN  TEEEITORY   BY    MOHAMJttEDANISM. 

IN  the  first  part  of  the  seventh  century,  a  power  arose 
in  Arabia  which  despoiled  Christianity  of  much  of 
its  territory  and  cast  a  menacing  shadow  over  the  rest 
for  centuries. 

The  founder  of  so  great,  and,  relatively  speaking,  so 
permanent  a  power,  could  not  have  been  an  ordinary 
man.  As  we  consider  the  breadth  and  self-propagating 
force  of  Mohammed's  influence,  we  are  compelled  to 
rank  him  among  the  most  noteworthy  actors  upon  the 
field  of  Oriental  history. 

The  prophetic  vocation  came  to  Mohammed  in  part 
as  a  demand  of  his  age  and  country,  and  in  part  as  a 
result  of  his  peculiar  mental  and  physical  constitution. 
Tokens  of  a  religious  ferment  had  appeared  among  his 
countrymen.  The  presence  of  a  considerable  Jewish 
and  Christian  population  had  probably  acted  upon  some 
minds  as  a  leaven  of  unrest.  The  reliability  of  the  old 
faith  began  to  be  questioned,  and  there  were  instances 
in  which  its  former  devotees  passed  over  into  scepti- 
cism. In  this  unrest  and  dissatisfaction,  none  shared 
more  deeply  than  Mohammed.  But  his  ardent  nature 
could  not  abide  in  mere  doubt  or  denial  of  the  old  idol- 


MOHAMMEDA  NISM.  61 

atrous  faith.  He  pondered  intensely  upon  the  problems 
of  religion.  Seeking  a  place  congenial  to  his  burdened 
soul,  he  retired  often  to  a  lonely  cave.  Gradually  his 
mind  became  established  firmly  in  the  conviction  of  the 
nothingness  of  idolatr}^,  and  in  the  acknowledgment  of 
one  supreme  God,  the  Creator,  Ruler,  and  Judge  of  the 
world.  In  a  nature  so  intense  and  poetic  as  was  his, 
the  new  belief  could  not  lie  dormant.  It  fired  his  im- 
agination, and  commanded  his  thoughts.  At  the  same 
time,  his  physical  constitution  gave  him  a  peculiar  apti- 
tude for  vision  and  trance.  So  the  epilepsy  of  child- 
hood became  the  prophetic  swoon  of  the  mature  man ; 
Mohammed  believed  himself  to  be  the  recipient  of  reve- 
lations, a  prophet  sent  from  God  to  turn  the  Arabs  from 
their  idols.  After  spreading  his  views  in  private  for 
an  interval  among  his  near  friends,  he  called  upon  the 
people  at  large  to  give  heed  to  his  message.  But  the 
inhabitants  of  Mecca  proved  to  be  a  gainsaying  people. 
They  responded  with  indifference,  and  finally  with  wrath 
and  persecution.  Meanwhile  pilgrims  from  Medina  had 
become  favorably  impressed  with  his  claims,  and  pre- 
pared for  him  a  refuge  in  that  city.  The  result  was 
the  Hejira  so  celebrated  in  Mohammedan  annals,  —  the 
flight  of  the  prophet,  in  622,  from  Mecca  to  Medina.  In 
the  latter  city  he  easily  gained  complete  ascendency. 
Other  means  besides  spiritual  weapons  were  now  at  his 
command,  and  he  made  no  delay  in  using  them.  The 
sword  was  welcomed  as  the  most  effective  instrument 
of  persuasion.  By  its  aid  Mohammed's  power  had  so 
far  advanced  by  630,  that  he  was  able  to  take  Mecca ; 
and  in  the  next  year  came  the  unsparing  edict  for  the 
complete  extirpation   of  idolatry  in    Arabia.     "  When 


52  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

the  sacred  months,"  so  reads  the  edict,  "are  passed 
away,  kill  the  idolaters  wherever  ye  may  find  them, 
and  take  them  and  besiege  them,  and  lie  in  wait  for 
them  in  every  place  of  observation  ,  but  if  they  repent, 
and  are  steadfast  in  prayer,  and  give  alms,  then  let 
them  go  their  way."  ^  At  the  death  of  Mohammed,  in 
632,  little  more  remained  to  be  done  to  complete  the 
dominion  of  his  faith  in  Arabia. 

As  Mohammed  professed  in  all  varieties  of  matters 
to  be  guided  by  revelations,  his  decisions  as  a  ruler,  as 
well  as  his  earlier  prophetic  messages,  were  at  the  same 
time  oracles  of  religion.  So  the  Koran  was  prepared. 
It  is  simply  a  collection  of  the  prophet's  utterances, 
without  respect  to  chronology  in  its  arrangement,  —  a 
feature  not  a  little  embarrassing  to  the  interpreter ;  for, 
it  being  a  settled  rule  among  the  Mohammedans  that 
in  case  of  disagreement  a  later  revelation  must  be  re- 
garded as  cancelling  an  earlier,  an  unsettled  chronology 
is  equivalent  to  an  unsettled  authority.  In  fact,  the 
outlines  of  the  faith  in  the  Koran  have  not  appeared  so 
distinct  to  its  votaries  as  to  prevent  much  diversity 
of  opinion,  and  much  division  into  sects.  The  advice 
of  the  prophet,  "  Take  tight  hold  of  God's  rope  alto- 
gether, and  do  not  part  into  sects,"  ^  has  been  very 
poorly  followed. 

Great  originality  cannot  be  claimed  for  the  prophet 
of  the  Koran.  He  drew  both  from  Judaism  and  from 
Christianity.  His  borrowings,  however,  evidently  were 
not  made  on  the  basis  of  an  accurate  acquaintance  with 
tlie  oracles  of  either.  The  sources  of  which  he  availed 
himself  were  extra-biblical,  the  popular  traditions  found 

1  Koran,  Sura  ix.  2  gura  iii. 


MORA  MMEDA  NISM.  L  3 

among  the  Arabian  Jews  and  Christians  in  his  time. 
These  he  interwove  at  considerable  length  with  his  rev- 
elations. At  first  he  acknowledged  both  Jews  and 
Christians  as  representatives  of  the  true  religion,  and 
even  instructed  his  followers  to  turn  their  faces  towards 
Jerusalem  in  prayer.  Later  he  regarded  them  in  a 
much  less  friendly  light,  though  still  giving  a  place  to 
Moses  and  Jesus  as  the  great  prophets  of  the  past,  and 
reckoning  himself  as  the  end  of  the  succession  to  which 
they  belonged. 

The  Koran  is  not  without  reference  to  the  Divine 
compassion,  the  freedom  of  man,  and  spiritual  rewards 
in  the  hereafter.  But,  after  all,  the  charge  is  well 
founded,  that  it  sets  forth  the  God  of  might  and  judg- 
ment rather  than  the  God  of  love,  lays  the  foundation 
for  a  fatalistic  conception  of  man's  relation  to  the  Divine 
sovereignty,  and  encourages  the  anticipation  of  a  sen- 
sual paradise.  On  the  latter  point,  the  mild  comments 
of  some  recent  writers  are  hardly  adequate  to  the  case. 
In  the  light  of  such  passages  as  are  found  in  Suras  xliv., 
Iv.,  and  Ixxviii.,  it  cannot  well  be  denied  that  a  full 
counterpart  of  the  Oriental  harem  is  transferred  to  the 
hereafter. 

With  some  passages  noble  in  content  as  well  as  in 
style,  and  not  unworthy  of  a  prophet,  the  Koran  com- 
bines others  which  bespeak  a  man  weakly  given  over  to 
delusion,  or  consciously  devoted  to  fraud  and  trickery. 
The  revelations  by  which  he  justified  his  marriage  with 
Zeinab,  the  divorced  wife  of  his  freedman  and  adopted 
son,  as  also  that  by  which  he  endeavored  to  silence  the 
complaints  of  his  wives  over  an  unequal  share  in  his 
attentions,  give  us  a  picture  of  inspiration  descending 


04  THE    MEDIJ^VAL    CHURCH. 

into  a  poor  and  transparent  burlesque.  Even  critics 
wlio  judge  Mohammed  in  general  with  great  charity  are 
obliged  to  confess  that  in  his  later  years  he  was  not 
unstained  by  the  arts  of  the  impostor.  "  It  is  hard  to 
think,"  says  Stanley  Lane-Poole,  "  that  he  could  really 
believe  in  the  inspired  source  of  some  of  his  revelations. 
He  may  have  thought  the  commands  they  convey  neces- 
sary, but  he  could  hardly  have  deemed  them  Divine. 
In  some  cases  he  could  scarcely  fail  to  be  aware  that  the 
object  of  the  '  revelation '  was  his  own  comfort  or  pleas- 
ure or  reputation,  and  not  the  major  Dei  gloria,  nor  the 
good  of  the  people."  ^ 

The  Koran  embodied  not  only  a  religion,  but  a  social 
system.  In  respect  to  the  latter,  it  no  doubt  intro- 
duced much  improvement  upon  the  previous  customs 
of  the  Arabians.  At  the  same  time  it  built  enor- 
mous barriers  against  future  progress.  By  giving  the 
sanction  of  religion  to  the  cardinal  vices  of  Eastern  civ- 
ilization,—  polygamy,  unlimited  license  in  concubinage, 
and  slavery,  —  it  mortgaged  unnumbered  generations 
to  degradation. 

Mohammed's  commendation  of  the  sword  by  word 
and  deed  found  a  ready  response  in  the  hearts  of  his 
followers.  Under  the  double  impulse  of  a  fresh  reli- 
gious zeal  and  military  ambition,  they  sallied  forth  to 
the  work  of  conquest.  And  where  these  two  motives 
failed,  a  third  came  in  to  urge  on  the  halting,  —  the  love 
of  plunder,  so  strongly  rooted  in  the  Arabs  of  that  as 
of  other  ages.  To  use  the  graphic  description  of  Sir 
William  Muir  :  "  The  marauding  spirit  of  the  Bedouin 
was  in  unison  with  the  militant  spirit  of  Islam.  The 
1  Studies  in  a  Mosque. 


MOHAMMEDANISM.  55 

cry  of  plunder  and  of  conquest  reverberated  throughout 
the  land,  and  was  answered  eagerly.  The  movement 
began  naturally  with  the  tribes  in  the  North,  which  had 
been  first  reclaimed  from  their  apostasy,  and  whose  rest- 
less spirit  led  them  over  the  frontier.  Later  on,  in  the 
second  year  of  the  Caliphate,  the  exodus  spread  to  the 
people  of  the  South.  At  first  the  Caliph  forbade  that 
help  should  be  taken  from  such  as  had  backslidden. 
But  step  by  step,  as  new  spheres  opened  out,  and  the 
cry  ran  through  the  land  for  fresh  levies  to  fill  up  the 
martyr  gaps,  the  ban  was  put  aside,  and  all  were  wel- 
come. Warrior  after  warrior,  column  after  column, 
whole  tribes  in  endless  succession,  with  their  women 
and  children,  issued  forth  to  battle  ,  and  ever,  at  the 
marvellous  tales  of  cities  conquered,  of  booty  rich  be- 
yond compute,  of  fair  captives  distributed  on  the  field, 
— '  to  every  man  a  damsel  or  two,'  —  and,  above  all,  at 
the  sight  of  the  royal  fifth  of  spoil  and  slaves  sent  to 
Medina,  fresh  tribes  arose  and  went.  Onward  and  still 
onward,  like  swarms  from  the  hive,  one  after  another 
they  poured  forth,  pressed  first  to  the  north,  and  spread 
thence  in  great  masses  to  the  east  and  west."  ^ 

So  far  as  Christian  territory  was  concerned,  in  large 
sections  an  easy  victory  for  the  Islamite  warriors  had 
been  prepared  by  the  great  schisms  which  had  grown 
out  of  the  Christological  controversies.  Large  popula- 
tions in  Egypt  and  Syria  were  not  at  all  loath  to  change 
from  the  hated  government  at  Constantinople  to  the 
yoke  of  Mohammedan  rule.  Both  of  these  countries 
had  been  conquered  by  640.  Persia  was  added  by  651. 
Northern  Africa  was  invaded  in  647,  but  not  fully  sub- 
1  Annals  of  the  Early  Caliphate. 


56  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

dued  till  the  first  years  of  the  next  century.  The 
conquest  of  Spain  was  begun  in  710.  The  capital  of 
Eastern  Christendom  was  twice  assailed  (669,  717),  and 
owed  its  safety  only  to  the  strength  of  its  fortifications 
and  the  use  of  the  Greek  fire.  The  Western  capital 
was  also  threatened.  Indeed,  in  the  space  of  a  century 
iMohammedanism  had  stretched  its  borders  along  the 
whole  extent  of  Christian  territory,  and  seemed  destined 
to  make  still  further  acquisitions.  But  the  reserved 
power  was  wanting  to  follow  up  the  early  victories.  So 
the  rugged  peoples  which  had  settled  in  the  Western 
Empire  were  able  both  to  check,  and  in  a  measure  to 
turn  back,  the  advancing  wave. 

In  most  countries,  Mohammedan  possession  meant  the 
limitation  rather  than  the  complete  destruction  of  the 
Christian  Church.  In  Arabia  the  policy  was  broached 
by  the  second  Caliph,  Omar,  of  tolerating  no  religion 
but  that  of  the  Koran.  But  elsewhere  the  attempt  was 
not  made  —  at  least,  it  was  no  part  of  a  settled  scheme 
—  to  proscribe  Christianity  and  Judaism.  The  alterna- 
tives presented  were  Islam,  tribute,  and  the  sword.  By 
the  payment  of  tribute  the  Christians  could  purchase 
for  themselves  the  privilege  of  practising  their  religion, 
only  subject  to  social  degradation  and  often  assailed 
with  ridicule.  To  those  at  all  open  to  temptation,  there 
were  plenty  of  motives  for  apostasy.  The  simple  accept- 
ance of  the  Koran  raised  the  conquered  to  the  rank  of 
the  conquerors.  Prisoners  who  had  forfeited  their  lives, 
as  having  been  taken  in  battle,  could  redeem  themselves 
by  a  change  of  faith.  Polygamy,  and  the  unrestrained 
right  of  the  master  to  use  every  bondwoman  according 
to  his  pleasure,  brought  multitudes  of  women  under  a 


MOHAMMEDA  NISM.  57 

heavy  domestic  constraint,  against  which  it  was  no  easy 
matter  to  preserve  their  religion.  Before  excessive  in- 
dulgence had  enervated  the  conquerors,  these  features 
of  their  social  system  were  no  doubt  effectual  means  for 
swelling  their  own  ranks  at  the  expense  of  the  tributary 
Christians.  In  some  quarters  Christianity  was  reduced 
almost  to  the  vanishing  point.  '^  Out  of  four  hundred 
sees  that  once  shed  a  salutary  light  on  Africa,  four  only 
were  surviving  in  the  eleventh  century.  The  rest  had 
been  absorbed  in  the  vortex  of  Islamism."  ^ 

In  return  for  its  work  of  destruction  in  general,  and 
for  its  enormous  crime  and  folly  in  particular  in  the 
burning  of  the  Alexandrian  library,  Mohammedanism 
began  to  give  back  the  fruits  of  learned  industry.  After 
the  conqueror  came  the  scholar.  By  the  eighth  century 
the  Arabic  mind  began  to  yield  to  the  stimulus  of  Greek 
culture.  Metaphysics  attracted  some  attention  ;  but  it 
was  in  the  line  of  mathematical  and  physical  studies 
that  the  most  noteworthy  achievements  were  made.  In 
Spain  the  tenth  century  was  the  golden  era  of  this 
Arabic  learning. 

i  Hard  wick,  Christian  Church  in  the  Middle  Age. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CIVIL    PATEONS    OF    CHRISTIANITY. 

WHILE  the  memory  of  the  Roman  Empire  perpetu- 
ated in  the  times  of  disruption  a  high  conception 
of  order  and  of  empire,  there  came  at  intervals  men  who 
had  the  ambition  and  the  talents  to  realize  in  a  measure 
the  ideal.  Such  in  a  pre-eminent  sense  were  the  early 
Carlovingians. 

The  Merovingian  dynasty  reached  the  natural  out- 
come of  luxury  and  license.  The  material  for  real 
kingship  became  exhausted.  Bois  faineants^  do-nothing 
kings,  mere  figure-heads,  sat  upon  the  throne.  A  line 
of  able  and  energetic  men,  commonly  designated  Mayors 
of  the  Palace,  rose  in  the  course  of  the  seventh  century 
to  the  place  of  actual  sovereignty.  Among  these  a  dis- 
tinguished place  was  held  by  Pepin  d'Heristal,  who  be- 
came master  of  France  in  687.  Shortly  after  his  death 
in  714,  his  illegitimate  son  Charles,  to  whom  the  glori- 
ous surname  of  Martel,  or  Hammer,  was  added  as  a 
memorial  of  his  triumph  over  the  Saracens,  took  the 
reins  of  government. 

Charles  Martel  was  not  in  all  respects  a  wise  and 
generous  patron  of  the  Christian  Church.  Not  only 
did  he  seize  upon  church  property  in  order  to  provide  a 
recompense  for  his  soldiers,  but  he  indulged  the  utterly 


CIVIL  PATRONS   OF  CHRISTIANITY.  59 

demoralizing  expedient  of  appointing  his  chief  officers 
to  high  ecclesiastical  trusts,  merely  for  the  sake  of  the 
ample  revenues  connected  therewith.  But  after  times 
made  little  account  of  this  trespass,  in  consideration  of 
the  services  of  Charles  in  turning  back  the  tide  of  Mo- 
hammedan invasion.  As  early  as  719  the  Saracens  of 
Spain  had  penetrated  beyond  the  Pyrenees.  In  731 
they  came  in  full  force,  purposing  nothing  less  than  to 
extend  their  rule  over  the  whole  of  France.  Charles 
Martel  chose  his  ground  at  a  point  between  Tours  and 
Poitiers.  For  six  days  the  two  hosts  confronted  each 
other  (October,  732).  On  the  seventh  day  the  battle 
began  in  earnest.  The  stalwart  Franks  met  without  re- 
coil the  impetuous  charge  of  the  Saracens.  At  length 
a  detachment  which  had  reached  the  enemy's  rear 
threw  them  into  confusion  by  an  attack  in  that  quar- 
ter. The  Franks,  now  charging  in  their  turn,  drove 
the  opposing  ranks  to  their  tents,  and  filled  them  with 
such  alarm  that  they  fled  under  cover  of  the  night, 
leaving  behind  them  immense  spoils.  The  victory  was 
decisive,  and  determined  that  the  crescent  should  sink 
behind  the  Pyrenees  as  speedily  as  it  had  risen  above 
them.  Reports  of  the  battle  ran  up  the  loss  of  the 
Saracens  to  the  incredible  figure  of  three  hundred  thou- 
sand slain.  Charles  stood  now,  though  without  a 
crown,  in  the  front  rank  of  European  princes.  The 
Pope  confessed  his  eminence  by  seeking  his  alliance, 
and  promising  to  bestow  upon  him  the  title  Patrician 
of  Rome. 

Charles  Martel  died  before  the  results  of  the  negotia- 
tions had  matured.  The  proposed  scheme,  however,  was 
carried  out  by  his  son  Pepin,  who  not  only  secured  the 


60  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

honorary  title  Patrician  of  the  Romans,  but  also  the 
acknowledged  rank  of  sovereign  of  the  Franks.  By 
papal  consent  he  took  the  crown.  In  answer  to  the 
question  propounded  by  the  ambassadors  of  Pepin,  the 
Pope  replied  that  he  who  wielded  the  authority  and 
fulfilled  the  duties  of  a  king  should  also  bear  the  name. 
So  the  helpless  Merovingian  Childeric  was  sent  to  the 
cloister,  and  Pepin  was  crowned  at  Soissons  in  752.  In 
return  for  favors  from  Rome,  Pepin  drove  the  Lombards 
from  their  usurped  possession  of  the  exarchate,  and 
made  a  grant  of  this  territory  to  the  Pope.  The  nature 
of  this  grant,  which  was  renewed  by  Charlemagne,  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  consider  in  a  subsequent  con- 
nection. 

The  foundations  laid  by  Charles  Martel  and  Pepin 
were  built  upon  by  a  man  of  much  greater  breadth 
and  genius  than  either  of  them.  Charlemagne,  the  first 
Germanic  ruler  of  pre-eminent  greatness,  on  the  death 
of  his  father,  Pepin,  in  768,  shared  the  kingdom  with 
his  brother  Carloman.  Three  years  later  he  became 
sole  ruler. 

It  was  the  grandeur  of  Charlemagne's  ambition,  that 
he  aimed  to  restore  an  image  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
And  it  must  be  allowed  that  he  went  far  toward  the 
fulfilment  of  his  ambition.  He  pushed  out  his  borders 
on  every  side.  He  gained  supremacy  over  a  large  part 
of  Italy.  He  acquired  a  portion  of  Spain.  He  con- 
quered the  Saxons,  though  at  the  expense  of  seventeen 
campaigns  and  upwards  of  thirty  years  of  struggle. 
He  gained  the  sovereignty  over  Bavaria,  penetrated 
into  Pannonia  and  conquered  the  Avars,  the  descend- 
ants of  the  Huns  whose  invasions  had  terrified  Europe 


CIVIL  PATRONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  61 

in  the  fifth  century.  In  fine,  his  empire  was  made  to 
cover  a  large  part  of  Western  Europe,  reaching  from 
the  Baltic  to  the  Ebro,  from  the  British  Channel  to  the 
southern  part  of  Italy,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Lower 
Danube  and  the  mountains  of  Moravia.  In  order  to 
gain  an  outward  badge  suitable  to  express  so  great  a 
stretch  of  authority,  Charlemagne  received  the  imperial 
crown  from  the  hands  of  the  Pope.  The  ceremonial  of 
coronation  took  place  on  Christmas  day  in  the  year 
800.  Thus  the  ancient  order  of  things  was  recalled. 
The  West  had  once  more  its  Christian  Caesar. 

Hand  in  hand  with  the  work  of  conquest,  Charle- 
magne endeavored  to  carry  on  the  work  of  civilization. 
He  patronized  scholars,  founded  schools,  collected  libra- 
ries, and  gave  to  his  people  in  his  own  habits  an  exam- 
ple of  zeal  and  industry  in  study.  He  endeavored  to 
inform  himself  about  the  state  and  the  wants  of  the 
people  in  all  parts  of  his  dominions,  and  was  unwearied 
in  efforts  to  provide  them  with  suitable  laws.  On  the 
whole,  he  used  a  wise  discretion  in  adjusting  his  at- 
tempts to  improve  his  people  to  their  native  character- 
istics. "  Other  barbarian  princes,"  says  Henri  Martin, 
"  have  cast  themselves  with  ardor  into  the  work  of  civ- 
ilization :  but  that  which  distinguishes  among  them  all 
the  great  Charles  is  that  he  substituted  an  intelligent 
imitation  for  a  servile  copying ;  that  he  borrowed  from 
Roman  traditions  only  ideas  and  information,  and  not 
impracticable  political  forms  ;  that  he  wished  finally  to 
civilize  the  race  of  Franks  and  Germans  by  developing, 
and  not  by  destroying,  its  native  genius.  In  that  lay  its 
force,  and  he  never  forgot  the  fact."  ^ 
1  Histoire  de  France. 


62  THE  MEDLEVAL   CHURCH. 

The  personal  appearance  of  Charlemagne  was  well 
suited  to  add  to  the  impression  made  by  his  magnificent 
achievements.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  promi- 
nent faults  were  made  little  of  by  his  contemporaries, 
especially  as  they  were  such  as  royalty  not  uncom- 
monly exhibited  in  that  age.  History  records  in  par- 
ticular, to  his  dishonor,  that  he  gave  way  to  a  savage 
ferocity  in  executing  at  one  time  four  thousand  and  five 
hundred  of  the  rebellious  Saxons ;  and  that  in  his  do- 
mestic life  he  was  guilty  of  concubinage,  as  well  as  of 
an  arbitrary  use  of  the  prerogative  of  divorce.^  Such 
blemishes  must  be  regarded  as  a  serious  detraction  from 
true  greatness  ;  nevertheless,  in  eminent  respects,  the 
first  Germanic  Emperor  was  not  unworthy  of  the  title 
which  has  become  incorporated  with  his  name.  Con- 
sidering his  resources,  he  accomplished  an  astonishing 
work.  ''  He  stands  alone,"  says  Hallam,  *'  like  a  bea- 
con upon  a  waste,  or  a  rock  in  the  broad  ocean.  His 
sceptre  was  as  the  bow  of  Ulysses,  which  could  not  be 
drawn  by  any  weaker  hand.  In  the  dark  ages  of  Euro- 
pean history,  the  reign  of  Charlemagne  affords  a  solitary 
resting-place  between  two  long  periods  of  turbulence 
and  ignominy,  deriving  the  advantage  of  contrast  both 
from  that  of  the  preceding  dynasty,  and  of  a  posterity 
for  whom  he  had  formed  an  empire  which  they  were 
unworthy  and  unequal  to  maintain."  ^ 

While  the  empire  of  Charlemagne  soon  went  to  pieces, 
the  fruits  of  his  labors  were  not  by  any  means  wholly 
swept  away.     The  pieces  were  far  different  from  what 

1  For  a  summary  of  Charlemagne's  domestic  record  see  Einhard,  Vita 
et  Conversatio  Caroli  Regis  Magni,  cap  xviii. 

2  Europe  during  the  jVIiddle  Ages. 


CIVIL  PATRONS   OF  CHRISTIANITY.  63 

they  would  have  been  but  for  his  powerful  impress. 
His  work  survived  in  the  more  progressive  elements  of 
the  states  into  which  his  empire  was  dismembered. 

It  was  in  the  lands  over  which  the  sovereignty  of 
Charlemagne  had  extended,  that  the  feudal  system  had 
its  most  conspicuous  development.  The  germs  of  the 
system,  no  doubt,  were  earlier  than  the  age  of  the  great 
Carlovingian.  In  the  disorders  which  followed  close 
upon  his  relinquishment  of  the  sceptre,  a  great  impe- 
tus was  given  to  its  growth.  The  act  of  Charles  the 
Bald  in  877,  in  making  the  government  of  the  counties 
hereditary,  thus  converting  these  districts  into  great 
fiefs,  decidedly  favored  its  complete  ascendency.  In 
the  tenth  century,  feudalism  appears  as  the  dominant 
rSgime.  Its  essential  characteristic  was  the  grant,  by  a 
superior,  of  property  or  privilege,  under  the  condition 
of  service.  Primarily  the  grant  consisted  of  lands, 
upon  which  the  holder  exercised  more  or  less  of  the 
rights  of  sovereignty ;  and  service  was  principally  dis- 
charged in  rendering  military  aid  to  the  patron  or  suze- 
rain. In  course  of  time,  however,  a  variety  of  rights 
and  privileges,  as  well  as  landed  estates,  passed  under 
the  feudal  tenure.  The  relation  of  lord  and  vassal  was 
held  not  only  by  the  lay  nobles,  but  also  by  prelates  and 
abbots  ;  not  only  by  individuals,  but  also  by  cities  and 
towns.  It  was  a  kind  of  neighborhood  system,  which 
was  rapidly  promoted  by  the  absence  of  a  strong  central 
government. 

After  Charlemagne,  the  next  illustrious  patron  of 
Christian  civilization  was  Alfred  the  Great  of  England, 
—  a  name  that  will  suffer  no  eclipse  when  placed  beside 
that  of  any  prince  of  the  period.     He  moved  indeed  in 


64  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH, 

a  much  narrower  circle  than  did  the  ambitious  restorer 
of  the  Roman  Empire.  In  intellectual  force  and  daring 
very  likely  he  was  not  his  equal.  But  he  w^as  more 
than  his  equal  in  the  highest  and  finest  traits.  In  purity 
of  life  and  symmetry  of  character  he  bore  a  title  to  last- 
ing reverence  and  affection  such  as  Charlemagne  was 
never  able  to  earn.  He  gained  the  heart  of  England  for 
all  time,  and  an  Englishman  must  exercise  self-restraint 
not  to  kindle  to  eloquence  as  he  mentions  his  name. 
*'  Alfred,"  says  Green,  "  was  the  noblest,  as  he  was  the 
most  complete,  embodiment  of  all  that  is  great,  all  that 
is  lovable,  in  the  English  temper.  He  combined  as  no 
other  man  has  ever  combined  its  practical  energy,  its 
patient  and  enduring  force,  its  profound  sense  of  duty, 
the  reserve  and  self-control  that  steadies  in  it  a  wide 
outlook  and  a  restless  daring,  its  temperance  and  fair- 
ness, its  frank  geniality,  its  sensitiveness  to  affection, 
its  poetic  tenderness,  its  deep  and  passionate  religion. 
Religion,  indeed,  was  the  groundwork  of  Alfred's  char- 
acter. Everywhere  throughout  his  writings  that  remain 
to  us,  the  name  of  God,  the  thought  of  God,  stir  him  to 
outbursts  of  ecstatic  adoration.  But  he  was  no  mere 
saint.  He  felt  none  of  that  scorn  of  the  world  about 
him  which  drove  the  nobler  souls  of  his  day  to  monas- 
tery or  hermitage.  Vexed  as  he  was  by  sickness  and 
constant  pain,  his  temper  took  no  touch  of  asceticism. 
His  rare  geniality,  a  peculiar  elasticity  and  mobility  of 
nature,  gave  color  and  charm  to  his  life.  A  sunny  frank- 
ness and  openness  of  spirit  breathes  in  the  pleasant  chat 
of  his  books,  and  what  he  was  in  his  books  he  showed 
himself  in  his  daily  converse."  ^ 

1  History  of  the  English  People. 


CIVIL  PATRONS   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  Qb 

Alfred  came  to  the  throne  (871)  at  a  time  of  great 
national  peril  and  distress.  The  inroads  made  by  the 
Danes  in  the  closing  years  of  the  preceding  century  had 
been  follo\yed  b}^  new  and  greater  invasions,  until  at 
length  they  seemed  ready  to  gain  complete  mastery  over 
England.  In  this  crisis  the  valor  and  patience  of  Alfred 
came  to  the  rescue.  He  inspired  the  hearts  of  the 
people  with  his  own  hopefulness,  met  the  enemy  in  bat- 
tle after  battle,  and  saved  the  country  from  the  yoke  of 
their  dominion.  He  was  not  able,  indeed,  to  expel  the 
Danes ;  but  he  held  them  in  check,  and  laid  the  foun- 
dation for  that  work  of  his  successors  by  which  the 
strangers  became  incorporated  into  the  English  people, 
instead  of  taking  its  place  or  reducing  it  to  a  subordi- 
nate rank.  England,  it  is  true,  came  in  time  to  have 
its  Danish  sovereign ;  but  Canute  and  those  of  his  house 
who  succeeded  him  for  a  brief  interval  brought  about 
no  ascendency  of  the  Danes  in  England  at  large.  They 
were  Danish  rulers  over  an  English  people. 

But  the  sword  was  by  no  means  the  only  weapon 
with  which  Alfred  served  his  people.  He  had  a  care  to 
provide  them  with  improved  laws,  and  with  new  means 
of  religious  and  intellectual  training.  He  beheld  with 
grief  the  gross  ignorance  which  had  been  settling  upon 
the  nation  since  the  Northern  pirates  had  begun  to  lay 
the  torch  to  cloister  and  church.  Teachers  were  called 
in  from  abroad.  Nor  did  the  King  stop  with  patronizing 
instructors:  he  turned  instructor  himself,  and  wrought 
diligently  at  the  translator's  task,  rendering  into  Eng- 
lish for  the  benefit  of  the  unlearned  the  work  of  Bocthius 
on  the  Consolation  of  Philosophy,  the  Pastoral  of  Pope 
Gregory,  the  Universal  History  of  Orosius,  and  the  His- 

5 


66  THE  MEDLEVAL   CHURCH. 

tory  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church  by  Beda.  In  fine,  we 
see  in  Alfred  a  consecration  of  princely  talents  that  has 
rarely  been  equalled  in  the  history  of  royalty. 

The  Norman  conquest  effected  a  great  revolution  in 
the  political  and  social  state  of  England,  and  had  also 
an  important  bearing  upon  its  ecclesiastical  affairs.  But 
the  effects  of  the  Norman  ascendency  may  better  be 
considered  in  the  following  period. 

Germany  presents  us  next  with  an  example  of  illus- 
trious sovereigns.  On  the  deposition  of  Charles  the 
Fat  in  888,  Germany  returned  to  the  status  of  a  sepa- 
rate realm  which  had  been  assigned  to  her  in  the  treaty 
of  Yerdun  in  843.  The  first  of  her  rulers  were  of  no 
special  note.  But  with  the  introduction  of  the  Saxon 
house,  in  919,  came  men  who  knew  how  to  add  honor 
to  the  imperial  dignity.  The  most  distinguished  in  this 
line  of  rulers  were  the  first  two,  Henry  the  Fowler  and 
Otho  I.  The  former  won  the  gratitude  of  Europe  by 
the  effectual  check  which  he  put  upon  the  inroads  of 
the  Hungarians.  The  latter  in  ambition  and  personal 
force  recalled  the  image  of  Charlemagne.  No  less  than 
the  mighty  Frank  he  aimed  to  restore  the  Roman  Em- 
pire. Having  consolidated  his  rule  in  Germany,  he 
pushed  on  into  Italy,  received  the  imperial  crown  from 
the  hand  of  the  Pope,  exercised  his  pleasure  in  filling 
the  papal  office,  and  established  his  supremacy  over  a 
large  part  of  the  peninsula.  He  may  be  regarded  as 
the  chief  founder  of  the  power  which  before  the  expira- 
tion of  the  next  century  was  to  match  arms  with  the 
papacy.  Three  rulers  followed  him  from  the  Saxon 
house ;  namely,  Otho  II.,  Otho  III.,  and  Henry  II. 
Then  came  (1024)  the  Franconian  house,  represented  by 
Conrad  II.,  Henry  HI.,  Henry  IV.,  and  Henry  V. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CONTROVERSIES. 

'T^HIS  period  presents  no  such  fruitful  activity  in  the 
-*-  sphere  of  doctrine  as  appeared  in  the  preceding. 
As  it  was  the  darkest  and  most  confused  of  the  Chris- 
tian ages,  so  it  was  the  least  competent  and  the  least 
disposed  to  accord  a  searching  attention  to  the  prob- 
lems of  the  faith.  While  there  were  some  men  of  fair 
sholarship,  such  as  John  of  Damascus  and  Photius  in 
the  East,  Isidore  of  Seville,  Beda,  Alcuin,  and  Rabanus 
Maurus  in  the  West,  these  had  more  of  the  spirit  and 
talent  of  the  compiler  than  of  the  energetic  and  original 
thinker.  In  John  Scotus  Erigena  alone  do  we  behold 
any  outburst  of  speculative  genius;  and  his  writings, 
with  their  manifold  aberrations  from  the  commonly 
accepted  system  of  belief,  were  rather  a  warning  to 
men  to  bridle  their  thoughts,  than  an  encouragement 
to  give  them  a  loose  rein. 

Still  the  age  had  its  controversies.  Two  of  these,  the 
Monothelite  and  the  Iconoclastic,  were  on  a  scale  which 
made  them  great  public  events.  They  fall  therefore 
properly  within  the  scope  of  this  work.  We  may  also 
devote  a  few  words  to  points  in  dispute  between  the 
East  and  the  West,  to  the  local  controversies  of  the 
West,  and  to  those  heretical  sects  which  were  regarded 
as  quite  without  the  pale  of  Catholic  Christianity. 


C8  THE  MEDLEVAL   CHURCH. 

1.  Tlie  Monothelite  Controversy.  —  This  was  the  end 
of  the  chain  whose  beginning  reaches  back  into  the 
later  stages  of  the  Arian  strife.  The  preceding  links 
were  Apollinarianism  and  its  condemnation  ;  Nestori- 
anism  and  its  condemnation ;  Eutychianism,  its  con- 
demnation, and  again  its  apparent  victory  through  the  . 
patronage  of  the  Alexandrian  Patriarch  Dioscurus ;  the 
formulation  of  the  orthodox  christology  at  Chalcedon ; 
the  rise  and  persistence  of  a  large  sectarian  body  in 
Egypt,  Syria,  and  the  neighboring  territory  to  the  east- 
ward, known  as  the  Monophysites,  who  refused  to  ac- 
cept the  creed  of  Chalcedon  ;  and  the  agitation,  largely 
without  fruit,  but  in  a  measure  favorable  to  the  Mono- 
physites, which  disturbed  the  reign  of  Justinian.  The 
chain  had  already  been  drawn  out  across  the  breadth  of 
two  centuries  and  a  half,  when  a  scheme  was  broached 
which  added  upwards  of  half  a  century  more. 

The  scheme  was  an  expedient  for  reconciling  the 
Monophysites  to  the  Church, — the  scheme  of  which 
the  Emperor  Heraclius  became  enamored.  In  his  cam- 
paign against  the  Persians,  his  attention  had  been  spe- 
cially directed  to  the  Monophysites.  He  bethought 
himself  that  it  would  be  a  glorious  thing  for  the  integ- 
rity of  the  Empire,  as  well  as  for  the  unity  of  the  Church, 
to  bring  back  this  large  body  of  schismatics  into  the 
Catholic  fellowship.  By  communication  with  the  Mono- 
physite  bishops,  and  those  who  were  anxious  for  their 
pacification,  the  idea  of  a  compromise  was  suggested  to 
his  mind.  He  thought  it  would  take  off  the  edge  of 
their  opposition  to  the  creed  of  Chalcedon,  if  it  were 
allowed  that  in  Christ  there  is  but  one  indivisible 
operation  of  will.     Such  a  concession,  as  he  properly 


CONTROVERSIES.  69 

jndgecl,  could  not  be  otherwise  than  welcome  to  their 
zeal  for  the  complete  unity  of  Christ's  person.  But  it 
was  necessary  to  consult  the  theologians.  Here  the 
result  was  at  first  all  that  the  Emperor  could  have  de- 
sired. Sergius,  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  became 
his  industrious  ally.  Indeed,  he  is  supposed  by  some 
historians  to  have  been  a  chief  instrument  in  suggesting: 
to  the  Emperor  the  plan  of  compromise. ^  He  helped 
to  quiet  the  scruples  of  Cyrus,  Bishop  of  Phasis,  who, 
as  he  was  promoted  to  the  patriarchate  of  Alexandria, 
gave  a  practical  application  to  the  scheme  of  reconcilia- 
tion, and  brought  many  of  the  Monophysites  into  the 
Catholic  Church.  Still  further  and  of  more  significance, 
Sergius  won  over  Honorius  I.,  Bishop  of  Rome,  to  a 
commendation  of  the  new  formula.  As  the  Patriarch 
of  Antioch  was  also  favorable  to  the  imperial  project, 
victory  seemed  well  assured. 

But  something  more  than  skilful  diplomacy  is  neces- 
sary to  fix  dogmas  in  any  age  and  people  not  given 
over  to  complete  indifference  and  passivity.  Schemes 
of  compromise  are  only  schemes  for  complicating  and 
prolonging  discussion.  An  ambiguous  formula  is  no 
basis  for  a  stable  equilibrium.  So  it  proved  in  this 
case.  Resolute  voices  began  to  assail  the  plan  of  pacifi- 
cation, as  a  surrender  to  Monophysite  heresy.  Sophro- 
nius.  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  issued  a  circular  letter  in 
defence  of  the  opposing  doctrine  of  two  wills  in  Christ. 
As  an  offset  to  this,  Heraclius  sent  forth  a  decree  (638). 
This  document,  which  was  probably  composed  by  Ser- 
gius, and  is  known  as  the  Ecthesis,  commanded  silence 
on  the  points  in  dispute  ;  but  it  was  in  no  wise  calcu- 
1  Hefele,  Conciliengeschichte,  §  291. 


TO  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

lated  to  induce  silence,  since  it  manifestly  departed 
from  the  neutral  standpoint,  and  put  in  an  apology  for 
the  Monothelite  teaching.  An  edict  issued  ten  years 
later  by  Constans,  and  called  the  Type^  was  more  genu- 
inely neutral.  But  neutrality  was  now  as  much  out  of 
the  question  as  the  positive  enforcement  of  the  Mono- 
thelite formula.  Men  of  weight  and  influence  stood 
forth  as  stubborn  opponents  of  all  compromise  and 
ambiguity.  Such  was  the  attitude  in  particular  of  the 
Roman  Bishop  Martin  I.,  and  the  monk  Maximus,  both 
of  whom  were  rewarded  for  their  courage  and  stead- 
fastness with  the  honors  of  martyrdom.  The  former, 
through  a  council  convened  at  Rome  in  649,  formally 
sanctioned  the  doctrine  of  two  wills  in  Christ,  and  con- 
demned not  only  the  opposing  doctrine,  together  with 
its  upholders,  but  also  the  two  imperial  decrees.  The 
last  item  was  declared  to  be  a  crime  against  the  imperial 
majesty.  Martin  accordingly  was  seized  in  Rome  by  the 
emissaries  of  the  Emperor,  and  carried  to  Constanti- 
nople. The  peril  of  a  death  sentence  was  turned  aside 
by  the  request  of  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  who 
was  then  in  his  last  sickness.  But  treatment  the  equiv- 
alent of  execution,  to  one  pressed  by  infirmities  as  was 
the  aged  Pope,  was  awarded  him.  After  being  harshly 
used,  he  was  sent  {^K)b')  to  Cherson  on  the  Black  Sea, 
where  a  few  months  of  deprivation  served  to  waste 
away  his  life.  Maximus  was  the  victim  of  even  greater 
barbarity.  As  flatteries,  threats,  and  banishment  were 
found  powerless  to  bend  his  resolution,  he  was  brought 
to  Constantinople,  scourged,  deprived  of  his  tongue 
and  right  hand,  and  sent  to  die  of  his  injuries  in 
renewed  exile  (662). 


CONTROVERSIES.  71 

The  cause  of  these  martyrs  was  the  cause  of  victory, 
not  merely  as  being  sustained  by  their  powerful  witness, 
but  as  being  most  in  accord  with  the  preceding  drift  in 
doctrine,  especially  as  represented  by  the  great  Council 
of  Chalcedon.  Consequently  the  Sixth  Ecumenical 
Council,  convened  at  Constantinople  in  680,  found  little 
difficulty  in  condemning  Monothelitism,  and  uniting 
upon  the  assertion  that  there  are  two  natural  wills  and 
two  natural  operations  in  Christ,  though  these  are  never 
in  antagonism.  The  decision  of  the  council  substan- 
tially ended  the  controversy.  There  was,  however,  an 
abortive  attempt  under  the  Emperor  Bardanes  (711-713) 
to  restore  the  proscribed  teaching,  and  it  continued  to 
find  refuge  among  the  Maronites  in  the  Lebanon  region. 

The  Monothelite  controversy  has  great  interest  apart 
from  its  bearing  upon  the  subject  of  christolog}^  Its 
record  affords  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  test 
cases  of  the  dogma  of  papal  infallibility.  While  the 
dogma  would  in  no  wise  be  proved  by  the  absence  of  ex 
cathedra  decrees  in  conflict  with  the  accepted  tenets  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  system,  inasmuch  as  that  system  it 
self  by  no  means  bears  the  stamp  of  infallibility,  a  single 
ex  cathedra  decree  from  any  pope  in  violation  of  any 
tenet  of  this  system  would,  even  on  Romanist  princi- 
ples themselves,  disprove  the  dogma.  Now,  it  has  been 
a  notorious  fact,  ever  since  the  days  of  Heraclius  and  his 
scheme  of  reconciliation,  that  the  name  of  the  Roman 
Bishop  Honorius  I.  has  been  intimately  associated  with 
the  Monothelite  heresy.  There  can  be  no  question  at 
all  that  he  was  implicated  in  its  patronage,  and  was 
anathematized  for  his  fault  by  the  highest  authorities  of 
the  Church. 


72  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

These  are  facts  which  call  for  a  careful  scrutiny. 
A  mooted  question  is  whether  Honorius  ex  cathedra 
sanctioned  heresy.  As  bearing  upon  this  question,  we 
may  consider  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  condemna- 
tion visited  upon  him,  the  evidence  of  his  own  writ- 
ings, and  some  of  the  more  noteworthy  verdicts  of 
scholars. 

The  nature  and  extent  of  the  condemnation  are  per- 
tinent to  the  question,  as  serving  in  some  measure  to 
express  the  impression  of  the  age  respecting  the  tres- 
pass of  Honorius.  It  is  not  to  be  assumed  that  councils 
presided  over  by  Roman  legates,  and  moreover  a  long 
line  of  Roman  bishops,  would  be  so  careless  of  the  honor 
of  the  Roman  see  as  to  anathematize  a  Roman  bishop 
for  heresy,  except  on  the  basis  of  the  most  serious  con- 
viction that  he  had  abased  his  high  office  to  the  positive 
patronage  and  inculcation  of  heresy.  Now,  the  anath- 
ema against  Honorius  was  quite  as  broad  as  these  terms 
indicate.  After  laying  Sergius  and  others  under  anath- 
ema, the  decree  of  the  ecumenical  council  of  680  pro- 
ceeds :  "  We  have  provided  that  together  with  these, 
Honorius,  who  was  Pope  of  ancient  Rome,  should  be 
cast  out  of  God's  holy  Catholic  Church  and  anathema- 
tized, because  we  have  discovered,  through  the  writings 
which  he  addressed  to  Sergius,  that  in  all  things  he 
followed  his  view,  and  confirmed  his  impious  dogmas." 
The  two  following  ecumenical  councils,  the  seventh  and 
eighth,  repeated  the  anathema.  Pope  Leo  11.  confirmed 
the  action  of  the  council  of  680  in  these  unequivocal 
terms :  "  We  equally  anathematize  the  inventors  of  the 
new  heresy,  that  is.  Bishop  Theodore  of  Pharan,  Cyrus 
of  Alexandria,  Sergius,  Pyrrhus,  Paulus,  Petrus,  way- 


CONTROVERSIES.  73 

layers  rather  than  overseers  of  the  church  of  Constan- 
tinople ;  also  Honorius,  who  has  not  illuminated  this 
apostolic  Church  with  the  doctrine  of  apostolic  tradition, 
but  by  a  profane  betrayal  has  endeavored  to  subvert  the 
immaculate  faith."  ^  A  whole  line  of  popes,  extending 
over  no  less  an  interval  than  three  centuries,  affixed  also 
their  signatures  to  the  anathema.  "  In  the  Liber  Diur- 
nus,"  says  Hefele,  "  that  is,  the  Book  of  Formularies  of 
the  Roman  Curia  (from  the  fifth  to  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury), is  found  the  old  formula  for  the  pontifical  oath, 
prescribed  without  doubt  by  Gregory  II.  (at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eighth  century),  according  to  which  every 
new  pope  at  his  entrance  upon  his  office  is  bound  to 
give  oath  that  he  acknowledges  the  Sixth  Ecumenical 
Council,  which  laid  an  eternal  anathema  upon  SergiuSj 
Pyrrhus,  etc.,  together  with  Honorius,  because  he  gave 
encouragement  to  the  depraved  assertions  of  heretics."  ^ 

As  is  indicated  in  the  above,  the  writings  in  which 
Honorius  patronized  the  Monothelite  heresy,  and  for 
which  he  was  placed  under  anathema,  were  his  epistles 
to  Sergius.  In  these  epistles  he  assumes  that  unity  of 
person  implies  oneness  of  will,  reprobates  mention  of 
either  one  or  two  energies  in  Christ,  and  accepts  the 
Monothelite  formula  in  these  plain  terras:  "We  confess 
also  one  will  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  ^ 

Some  of  the  most  eminent  exponents  of  Roman  Cath- 
olic scholarship  have  avowed  that  it  is  impossible  to 
excuse  Honorius  from  an  ex  cathedra  sanctioning  of 
heresy.      Dollinger,  writing   several   years   before  the 

1  Mansi,  Hefele,  Gieseler. 

2  Conciliengeschichte,  2d  ed.,  1877,  §  324. 

3  Mansi,  Hefele. 


74  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

Vatican  Council  of  1869-70,  declares  that  he  was  just 
as  much  a  heretic  as  Sergius,  and  others  of  the  Oriental 
bishops  who  championed  the  Monothelite  heresy,  and 
can  be  exempted  from  the  odium  of  that  name  only  on 
the  same  ground  on  which  they  can  be  exempted  ; 
namely,  that  their  erroneous  views  were  given  forth 
in  connection  with  a  subject  upon  which  the  Church 
had  not  yet  rendered  any  authoritative  decision.  In 
confirmation  of  the  conclusion,  that  Honorius  was  es- 
sentially agreed  with  the  Patriarchs  of  Constantinople 
and  Alexandria,  he  points  to  the  fact  that  the  Roman 
Bishop,  in  entire  harmony  with  their  view,  interpreted 
the  two  passages  of  Scripture  which  most  clearly  dis- 
tinguish between  the  human  and  the  Divine  will  in 
Christ,  as  being  in  the  mouth  of  Christ  a  mere  "  econ- 
omy," or  accommodated  mode  of  speaking,  used  for 
the  purpose  of  admonishing  us  to  submit  our  wills  to 
the  Divine.  On  the  question  whether  Honorius  in  his 
epistles  rendered  an  ex  cathedra  decision,  Dollinger 
says,  "  If  the  conception  of  an  ex  cathedra  decision  is 
given  the  requisite  breadth,  and  only  those  dogmatic 
declarations  are  reckoned  to  this  category  which  a  pope 
issues  not  in  his  own  name  or  for  himself,  but  in  the 
name  of  the  Church,  with  the  sure  consciousness  of  the 
teaching  prevailing  in  the  Church,  consequently  after 
foregoing  inquiry  or  conciliar  discussion,  then  —  but 
also  only  then  —  can  it  be  said  that  Honorius  did  not 
render  an  ex  cathedra  decision."  ^ 

1  Die  Papst-Fabeln  des  Mittelalters,  1863.  Any  one  who  will  honestly 
examine  the  text  of  the  Vatican  decrees  of  1870  cannot  fail  to  see  that 
they  assert  for  the  Pope  dogmatic  independence  or  absoluteness.  The 
authority  of  his  decisions  is  in  no  wise  made  to  depend  on  *'  foregoing 


CONTROVERSIES.  75 

Hefele,  while  he  insinuates  the  charitable  thought 
that  Honorius  was  not  at  heart  a  heretic,  cannot  deny 
the  fact  that  he  so  expressed  himself  as  in  his  highest 
official  capacity  to  patronize  heresy.  In  his  Causa 
Honorii  Papcc^  written  before  the  Vatican  Council,  he 
sums  up  the  tenor  of  the  Pope's  epistles  in  this  way : 
"  Honorius  rejected  the  technical  orthodox  term  of  two 
energies,  and  declared  the  specific  heretical  term,  one 
will,  to  be  correct,  and  prescribed  this  twofold  error  as 
an  article  of  faith  to  the  church  of  Constantinople." 
In  the  same  treatise  he  pronounces  for  the  ex  cathedra 
character  of  the  papal  documents.  Answering  the  ob- 
jection that  they  were  not  formally  addressed  to  the 
whole  Church,  he  says,  "  I  do  not  know  that  a  formal 
address  to  the  whole  Church  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
an  ex  cathedra  definition  ;  for  in  that  case  the  famous 
dogmatic  epistle  of  Leo  I.  to  Flavian  was  not  given  ex 
cathedra,'^  In  his  references  to  the  subject  subsequent 
to  the  Vatican  Council,  Hefele,  if  more  careful  to  give 
prominence  to  the  utmost  allowance  for  Honorius  that 
the  facts  may  permit,  does  not  depart  essentially  from 
his  former  position.  He  allows  the  faults  which  appear 
upon  the  surface  of  the  epistles  to  Sergius,  and  declares 
explicitly  for  the  ex  cathedra  character  of  those  epis- 
tles. On  the  latter  point,  speaking  of  Pennachi  as  a 
prominent  supporter  of  the  affirmative,  he  says,  "  I, 
for  my  part,  confess  my  agreement  in  this  connection 
with  Pennachi,  since  Honorius  designed  to  give  to 
the  church  of  Constantinople  immediately,  and  to  the 

inquiry  or  conciliar  discussion."  Hence,  in  the  light  of  the  existing 
definition,  Dollinger  appears  as  asserting  unqualifiedly  the  e.x  cathedra 
character  of  the  teaching  of  Honorius. 


76  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

whole  Churcli  implicitly,  a  prescription  respecting  doc- 
trine and  faith ;  and  in  his  second  letter  employed  the 
very  expression,  '  Ceterum,  quantum  ad  dogma  ecdesias- 
ticum  pertinet,  •  -  .  non  unam  vel  duas  operationes  in 
mediatore  Dei  et  hominum  dehnire  debemus.'  "  ^ 

Before  leaving  this  historical  episode,  we  should  ob- 
serve that  its  significance  is  by  no  means  dependent 
upon  the  conclusion  which  may  be  reached  as  to  whether 
in  strictness  an  ex  cathedra  character  belonged  to  the 
heretical  teaching  of  Honorius.  Even  though  a  nega- 
tive should  be  pronounced  here,  the  case  presents  a 
fatal  obstruction  to  the  doctrine  of  papal  infallibility. 
As  the  New  Testament  does  not  mention  the  Bishop  of 
Rome,  it  says  of  course  nothing  about  his  infallibility. 
Accordingly,  the  dogma  of  papal  infallibility,  if  it  has 
any  foundation  at  all,  has  only  a  traditionary  basis. 
Now  the  facts  cited  show  that  it  cannot  claim  even  such 
a  basis.  That  long  succession  of  anathemas,  reaching 
over  the  breadth  of  centuries,  unrelieved  by  a  single 
suggestion  that  the  honor  of  the  Roman  see  could  be 
saved  by  the  supposition  that  Pope  Honorius  had  not 
transgressed  against  the  faith  in  his  highest  official  ca- 
pacity, —  what  does  it  prove  ?  It  proves  that  the 
Church  of  that  era  as  represented  by  its  supreme  au- 
thorities did  not  entertain  the  theory  of  an  ex  cathedra 
infallibility.  That  theory  lacks,  therefore,  the  marks  of 
a  valid  tradition,  and  has  no  genuine  historical  basis. 

2.  The  Iconoclastic  Controversy.  —  A  special  interest 
pertains  to  this  long-continued  strife.  The  subject  was 
one  which  invited  the  attention  of  the  common  man,  as 
well  as  of  the  cultured  theologian.     It  had  to  do  with 

^  Conciliengeschichte,  2cl  ed.,  §  298. 


CONTROVERSIES.  7T 

the  every-day  practice  of  the  masses,  with  their  cher- 
ished associations,  with  the  satisfaction  of  feelings  to 
which  habitual  indulgence  had  given  an  inveterate  bias. 
A  passionate  warmth,  therefore,  characterized  the  dis- 
pute. Argument  often  passed  over  into  popular  uproar 
or  tyrannical  violence.  Both  people  and  rulers  were 
put  to  the  test;  and  in  the  changing  scenes  of  the 
drama  we  gain  a  living  picture  of  the  age  in  general, 
and  of  the  Byzantine  court  in  particular.  The  contro- 
versy, too,  was  one  of  far-reaching  consequence,  being 
accessory  to  the  political  separation  of  the  East  and  the 
West,  and  so  hastening  the  unrestricted  development  of 
Latin  Christianity  towards  its  peculiar  type. 

The  iconoclastic  war  had  its  origin  in  a  revolutionary 
attempt,  —the  attempt  of  the  Byzantine  ruler,  with  an 
army  at  his  back,  to  root  up  an  established  custom.     It 
may   be,  indeed,  that  within   the  ecclesiastical  sphere 
there  was  somewhat  of  a  reaction  against  the  worship  of 
images ;  but  it  was  not  of  notable  extent.     The  whole 
current  of  thought  and  practice  in  the  East  was  in  the 
direction    of    image-worship  at   the    beginning  of   the 
eighth  century,  when  the  government  attempted  to  turn 
back  the  stream.     In  the  West,  the  cause  of  images 
claimed  at  the  same  time  a  less  unanimous  suffrage. 
Though  moving,  on  the  whole,  toward  the  same  goal, 
the  West  moved  more  slowly.     Gregory  the  Great,  at 
the  close  of  the  sixth  century,  while  he  gave  a  place  to 
images  as  being  suited  to  stimulate  religious  contempla- 
tion, seems  not  to  have  favored  the  bestowing  any  form 
of  worship  upon  them.     In  his  epistles  to  Serenus,  the 
iconoclastic  Bishop  of  Marseilles,  he  approves,  not  in- 
deed his  breaking  and  banishing  of  images,  but  his  zeal 


78  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

in  prohibiting  adoration  of  them.  Neander,  in  his  com- 
ments on  the  language  of  the  Pope,  remarks,  "  Since 
Gregory  here  expresses  himself  so  unconditionally 
against  the  adoratio  imaginum^  so  is  it  to  be  concluded 
therefrom  that  he  repudiated  not  merely  an  idolatrous 
direction  of  the  inward  feelings,  but  also  every  outward 
token,  like  prostration  or  kneeling,  which  was  customa- 
rily rendered  before  idols."  ^  A  considerable  part  of 
the  West,  as  we  shall  observe  later,  still  adhered  to  this 
position  after  the  outbreak  of  the  controversy  in  the 
East.  It  was  mainly  that  part,  however,  which  had 
not  been  under  Eastern  rule.  The  Popes,  from  the  early 
part  of  the  eighth  century,  appeared  as  zealous  cham- 
pions of  the  cause  of  image-worship.  Accordingly,  so 
far  as  his  own  domain  was  concerned,  the  Byzantine 
ruler  began  his  crusade  against  a  custom  substantially 
universal. 

As  to  the  merits  of  the  opposing  parties,  they  are 
best  described  in  the  statement  that  the  controversy 
was  a  struggle  of  one  extreme  against  another,  —  a 
struggle  between  a  superstitious  valuation  of  images, 
and  a  fanatical  opposition  to  them. 

The  latter  extreme  can  no  doubt  claim  the  palliation 
that  it  was  provoked  by  existing  abuse.  To  men  like 
Leo  the  Isaurian,  the  current  worship  of  images  seemed 
a  dire  reproach  to  Christianity.  They  did  not  see  how, 
in  the  face  of  a  practice  having  so  much  of  the  sem- 
blance of  idolatry,  they  could  answer  the  taunts  of 
Jews  and  Mohammedans.  It  struck  them,  that  in  this 
matter  the  infidel  opponents  had  the  better  side  of  the 
case. 

1  Kirchengeschichte,  vol.  v. 


CONTROVERSIES.  79 

Thus  the  iconoclasts  charged  the  image-worshippers 
with  being  the  occasion  of  a  grievous  scandal.  They 
also  held  up  against  them  the  prohibition  contained  in 
the  second  commandment  given  at  Sinai,  and  referred 
to  the  act  of  Hezekiah  in  casting  the  brazen  serpent  out 
of  the  temple  as  a  warrant  for  a  summary  dealing  with 
any  material  object  which  seduced  the  people  to  an 
undue  reverence.  They  argued  that  it  belongs  to  the 
spirituality  of  Christian  worship  to  rise  above  the  visi- 
ble and  tangible  ;  that  the  proper  objects  of  adoration 
lie,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  unseen  realm,  and  to  at- 
tempt to  give  a  visible  representation  of  them  is  to  dis- 
honor them.  As  respects  the  person  of  Christ,  they 
attempted  to  construct  a  dilemma  for  their  opponents, 
maintaining  that  it  savored  of  Nestorianism  to  repre- 
sent only  the  humanity  of  Christ,  as  if  the  humanity 
could  be  separated  from  the  divinity,  whereas  to  mingle 
the  humanity  and  divinity  would  involve  the  heresy  of 
Eutychianism.  The  subtlety  of  this  last  argument, 
such  as  it  was,  being  its  only  recommendation,  it 
probably  accomplished  little  toward  begetting  any  real 
coiwiction  upon  the  subject. 

As  contending  against  practical  idolatry,  the  Icono- 
clasts had  a  cause  that  was  worthy,  and  capable  of  being 
well  sustained  before  the  bar  of  reason  and  Scripture. 
But  they  marred  their  opportunity  by  the  extreme  to 
which  they  carried  their  opposition.  In  warring  upon 
images,  instead  of  seeking  simply  to  mend  the  abuse  of 
images,  they  entered  upon  untenable  ground.  It  was 
also  a  breach  in  the  rational  basis  of  their  cause,  that 
they  tolerated  the  worship  of  the  creature  on  the  one 
hand  while  reprobating   it  on  the   other,  commanding 


80  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

homage  to  saints  while  destroying  their  images.  The 
Iconoclasts,  moreover,  were  placed  at  a  great  practical 
disadvantage,  in  that  they  provided  no  adequate  substi- 
tute for  what  they  took  away,  no  positive  source  for 
any  sustained  religious  enthusiasm.  "  There  was  this 
irremediable  weakness,"  says  Milman,  "  in  the  cause  of 
Iconoclasm.  It  was  a  mere  negative  doctrine,  a  pro- 
scription of  those  sentiments  which  had  full  possession 
of  the  popular  mind,  without  any  strong  countervailing 
religious  excitement.  There  was  none  of  that  appeal 
to  principles  like  those  of  the  Reformation,  to  the  Bible, 
to  justification  by  faith,  to  the  individual  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility. The  senses  were  robbed  of  their  habitual 
and  cherished  objects  of  devotion,  but  there  was  no 
awakening  of  an  inner  life  of  intense  and  passionate 
piety.  The  cold  naked  walls  from  whence  the  Scrip- 
tural histories  had  been  effaced,  the  despoiled  shrines, 
the  mutilated  images,  could  not  compel  the  mind  to  a 
more  pure  and  immaterial  conception  of  God  and  the 
Saviour.  It  was  a  premature  rationalism,  enforced 
upon  an  unreasoning  age,  an  attempt  to  spiritualize  by 
law  and  edict  a  generation  which  had  been  unspiritual- 
ized  by  centuries  of  materialistic  devotion.  Hatred  of 
images,  in  the  process  of  the  strife,  might  become,  as  it 
did,  a  fanaticism :  it  could  never  become  a  religion. 
Iconoclasm  might  proscribe  idolatry,  but  it  had  no 
power  of  kindling  a  purer  faith."  ^ 

In  supporting  their  side  of  the  case,  the  image-wor- 
shippers were  able  to  adduce  some  very  plausible  con- 
siderations.    They  rebutted  the  charge  of  idolatry  with 
the  declaration  that  the  image  was  in  no  case  the  ulti- 
1  History  of  Latin  Christianity,  vol.  ii. 


CONTROVERSIES.  81 

mate  object  of  devotion,  but  only  the  medium  of  calling 
the  object  vividly  before  the  mind.  To  the  quotation 
of  Old  Testament  prohibitions,  they  replied  that  these 
prohibitions  were  aimed,  not  against  the  use,  but  against 
the  abuse  of  images,  as  might  be  judged  from  the  fact 
that  the  divinely  instructed  artisans  of  the  tabernacle 
and  the  temple  introduced  certain  images  into  these 
sanctuaries,  adorning  the  hangings  with  figures,  and 
surmounting  the  mercy-seat  with  the  cherubim.  They 
claimed,  moreover,  that  a  different  order  of  things  is 
appropriate  under  the  Christian  dispensation  from  that 
which  was  admissible  under  the  disciplinary  Jewish 
dispensation.  The  religious  mind,  matured  by  Chris- 
tian teaching,  does  not  need  the  same  safeguards  against 
heathenism  as  were  demanded  by  earlier  times.  It  may 
now  subsidize  to  its  own  uses  whatever  nature  and  art 
afford.  The  material  is  not  to  be  disdained,  since  the 
Son  of  God  has  assumed  a  body.  Those  who  disparage 
matter  really  approve  the  odious  Manichsean  heresy. 
The  material  is  capable  of  affording  most  fruitful  sug- 
gestions of  the  spiritual  and  divine.  Pictures  take  the 
place  of  books  with  the  unlearned,  and  the  ornamented 
wall  of  the  church  preaches  to  them  more  effectually 
than  words.  In  the  eloquent  apology  of  John  of 
Damascus,  one  of  this  class  urges  the  plea :  "  I  am  too 
poor  to  possess  books,  I  have  no  leisure  for  reading ;  I 
enter  the  church,  choked  with  the  cares  of  the  world ; 
the  glowing  colors  attract  my  sight  and  delight  my 
eyes,  like  a  flowery  meadow,  and  the  glory  of  God 
steals  imperceptibly  into  my  soul.  I  gaze  on  the  forti- 
tude of  the  martyr,  and  the  crown  with  which  he  is  re- 
warded ;  and  the  fire  of  holy  emulation  kindles  within 

6 


82  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

me,  and  I  fall  down  and  worship    God  through    the 
martyr,  and  I  receive  salvation."  ^ 

But  with  all  their  fair-sounding  arguments,  the  image- 
worshippers  were  not  able  to  conceal  the  defects  of 
their  position.  Indeed,  some  of  the  very  arguments 
which  they  paraded  are  a  standing  witness  to  the  crude 
and  superstitious  excess  which  they  indulged.  What 
is  to  be  thought  of  a  cause  which  its  ablest  champion, 
the  learned  John  of  Damascus,  supported  by  the  story 
of  the  tempted  recluse  ?  As  the  legend  runs,  the 
recluse  was  beset  by  the  demon  of  licentiousness.  At 
length  the  demon  promised  to  leave  him  in  peace  if  he 
would  cease  to  worship  the  image  of  the  Virgin,  to 
which  he  was  devoted.  This  conference  was  reported 
soon  after  to  a  certain  abbot.  Better,  said  the  abbot 
to  the  recluse,  to  visit  every  brothel  in  the  city  than  to 
keep  such  an  engagement.  The  obvious  conclusion, 
which,  indeed,  is  drawn  by  the  scholarly  commentator, 
is  that  the  demon  was  well  aware  that  the  crime  of 
forsaking  the  worship  of  the  image  would  be  more 
deadly  to  the  recluse  than  that  of  fornication. ^  Now, 
when  a  distinguished  scholar  could  give  place  to  such  a 
representation,  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  practice  of 
the  masses  must  have  been  tinged  with  gross  supersti- 
tion. No  speculative  refinements  can  hide  the  facts. 
The  dogmatic  theory  might  declare  the  image  a  mere 
symbol  or  memorial,  but  in  the  popular  conception  it 
was  something  more :  it  was  a  thing  in  which  super- 
natural virtue  was  localized,  a  species  of  fetich.  This 
is  manifest  from  the  miracles  that  were  attributed  to 
images;  from  the  distinctions  that  were  made,  as  re- 
1  Milman's  rendering.  2  -Qq  Imaginibus,  Orat.  i. 


CONTROVERSIES.  83 

spects  virtue,  between  different  images  of  the  same 
sunject ;  from  the  opinion  that  certain  images  had  been 
sent  down  from  heaven  ;  from  the  singular  practice  of 
selecting  images  to  serve  as  sponsors  at  the  baptism  of 
children  ;  and  from  other  beliefs  and  practices  savoring 
almost  as  little  of  intelligent  piety.  There  was  abun- 
dant cause  for  a  righteous  indignation.  The  fault  of 
the  Iconoclasts  was  not  their  endeavor  to  effect  a 
reform,  but  rather  their  one-sided  views  and  their 
tyrannical   measures. 

Leo  the  Isaurian,  who  began  the  onslaught  against 
images,  was  a  resolute  and   an   able   commander.     As 
such  he  rendered  great  service  to  the  state.    But  for  the 
odium  awakened  by  his  iconoclastic  measures,  his  name 
might  have  been  celebrated  alongside  that  of  Charles 
Martel  in  the  list  of  the  great  benefactors  of  Christen- 
dom.    " Leo  the  Isaurian,"  says  Freeman,  "by  preserv- 
ing Byzantium  and   the  Byzantine   Empire   preserved 
Christianity  and  civilization.     Never  were  they  in  such 
awful  peril  as  when  Moslemah  landed  before  Constanti- 
nople." 1     Taking  his  standard  from  the  sphere  in  which 
he  was  most  at  home,  Leo  was  inclined  to  administer 
the  affairs  of  the  Empire  in  general  with  military  rigor. 
Of  this  disposition  we  have  a  striking  example  in  his 
attempt  to  Christianize  the  Jews  and  to  make  ortho- 
dox Catholics  of  the  Montanists  by  means  of  compulsory 
baptism.     It   was   quite  in   accordance,  then,  with  his 
approved  tactics,  that  he  undertook  to  banish   image- 
worship  by  edict  and  force.     The  first  edict  was  issued 
about  the  tenth  year  of  his   reign,  or   in    726.     This, 
historians  have   generally  assumed,  was   not   so  much 
1  History  and  Conquests  of  the  Saracens. 


84  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH, 

against  images  as  against  outward  tokens  of  worship 
before  them ;  but  Hefele  infers  that  even  the  first  edict 
was  genuinely  iconoclastic.  Such  undoubtedly  was  the 
nature  of  the  decree  which  was  issued  in  730.  It  pro- 
scribed images  for  religious  uses,  and  ordered  that  the 
churches  should  be  cleansed  from  all  traces  of  their 
contaminating  presence.  Opposition  was  naturally  ex- 
cited by  such  summary  measures.  In  some  quarters  the 
popular  agitation  passed  on  to  the  stage  of  open  rebel- 
lion. But  Leo  pursued  his  chosen  policy,  against  all 
clamors.  The  aged  and  worthy  Patriarch  Germanus 
was  retired  from  the  episcopal  throne  of  Constantino- 
ple, and  one  who  was  pliant  to  the  imperial  will  was  put 
in  his  place.  Insurrection  was  crushed  in  the  East ;  but 
in  the  West  the  Emperor  found  opportunity  to  repay 
the  defiant  attitude  of  the  Pope  only  by  cutting  off  the 
revenues  which  he  derived  from  Calabria  and  Sicily. 

Constantine  Copronymus  (741-775),  the  son  and  suc- 
cessor of  Leo  the  Isaurian,  inherited  both  the  military 
talent  and  the  hatred  of  images  which  had  distinguished 
his  father.  In  the  first  part  of  his  reign  he  proceeded 
rather  quietly ;  but  the  uncompromising  nature  of  his 
design  was  fully  revealed  in  754,  as  he  assembled  a  coun- 
cil at  Constantinople  to  place  upon  images  a  final  and 
authoritative  seal  of  banishment.  About  three  hundred 
and  forty  bishops  assembled.  Few  of  them  were  Icono- 
clasts by  conviction ;  but  the  whole  body  succumbed 
to  the  imperial  will,  declared  that  the  bread  and  wine 
of  the  eucharist  are  the  only  proper  image  of  Christ, 
denounced  all  material  representations  of  the  saints 
and  the  Virgin,  and  even  cast  a  slur  upon  art  itself  by 
characterizing  the  craft  of   the  painters  as  a  "godless 


CONTROVERSIES.  85 

and  blasphemous  art."  But  while  affecting  on  one  side 
such  abhorrence  of  tying  worship  down  to  the  creature, 
the  council  hurled  its  anathema  at  those  who  should 
not  seek  the  intercessions  of  the  Virgin,  as  of  one  above 
every  visible  and  invisible  thing,  and  having  boldness 
of  access  to  the  God  whom  she  bore. 

To  execute  the  decisions  of  the  council  was  found 
to  be  no  easy  task.  The  obsequiousness  of  the  bishops 
was  in  no  wise  shared  by  the  monks.  They  kept  up  a 
stubborn  and  vexatious  opposition.  At  length  Constan- 
tine  became  so  exasperated,  that  he  cast  off  all  restraint 
in  his  deahng  with  the  monks.  They  were  scourged, 
mutilated,  banished,  and  even  killed.  An  oath  was 
exacted  from  the  people  of  Constantinople,  if  not,  in- 
deed, of  other  regions,  binding  tliem  henceforth  to 
renounce  image-worship.  In  fine,  Constantine  did  his 
work  as  thoroughly  as  it  could  be  done  by  force.  Only 
a  few  years,  however,  were  required  to  show  how  little 
had  been  accomplished  toward  the  cure  of  the  disease. 

During  the  short  reign  of  Leo  IV.  (775-780),  little 
change  was  effected,  except  that  there  was  a  relative 
cessation  of  violence.  Leo  himself  adhered  to  the  icon- 
oclastic maxim.  His  wife  Irene,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  devotedly  attached  to  images.  On  the  death  ^  of 
her  husband,  as  Constantine  her  son  was  in  his  minority, 
the  control  of  affairs  came  into  her  hands.  After  a  few 
years  of  dexterous  management,  the  preparation  for  the 
reinstatement  of  images  seemed  complete.  Accordingly, 
in  787  the  assembly  was  convened  at  Nicaea  which  passes 
as  the  Seventh  Ecumenical  Council.  It  declared  as 
emphatically  in  favor  of  images  as  the  council  of  754 
had   declared  against  them ;    ordaining  that  images  of 


86  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

Christ,  of  the  Virgin,  of  saints,  angels,  and  holy  men, 
as  well  as  the  cross,  whether  in  colors,  mosaic-work,  or 
other  material,  whether  on  the  sacred  vessels  and  vest- 
ments, on  walls  and  tablets,  in  houses  and  in  highways, 
should  be  honored  with  the  kiss  and  prostration,  and 
worshipped,  but  without  that  peculiar  adoration  which 
is  properly  offered  to  the  Divine  nature  alone.  The 
council  also  included  the  gospel  books,  and  the  relics 
of  martyrs,  among  the  proper  objects  of  veneration. 

Among  the  laudatory  acclamations  of  the  council  of 
787  was  one  which  hailed  Irene  as  the  new  Helena,  and 
her  son  as  the  new  Constantine.  A  poor  tribute  to  the 
mother  of  the  first  Christian  Emperor!  This  "new 
Helena  "  was  soon  to  appear  as  the  author  of  one  of  the 
darkest  crimes  of  history.  Having  ruled  for  her  son 
during  his  minority,  she  became  his  rival  as  he  came 
to  years,  and  finally  gave  the  climax  to  the  unnatural 
struggle  by  causing  his  eyes  to  be  put  out.  The  barba- 
rous deed  is  said  to  have  been  committed  in  the  same 
chamber  in  which  she  gave  him  birth. 

While  the  restoration  of  images  was  acceptable  to  the 
great  mass  of  the  clergy  and  the  people,  there  were 
some,  especially  among  the  soldiers,  who  had  been  too 
long  and  too  thoroughly  educated  in  the  principles  of 
iconoclasm  to  look  with  complacency  upon  the  reinstate- 
ment in  the  churches  of  the  banished  ornaments.  So 
there  was  material  for  a  reaction  at  hand.  Two  Emper- 
ors of  the  ninth  century,  Leo  the  Armenian  (813-820) 
and  Theophilus  (829-842),  renewed  the  decrees  and 
the  harsh  measures  of  their  iconoclastic  predecessors. 
The  reaction,  however,  was  entirely  futile,  as  became 
manifest  immediately  after  the  death  of  Theophilus. 


CONTROVERSIES.  87 

His  widow,  Theodora,  who  was  as  much  attached  to 
images  as  her  husband  had  been  opposed  to  them,  forth- 
with convened  a  synod,  and  reinstated  the  decrees  of 
the  Second  Council  of  Nicsea.  This  was  substantially 
the  end  of  the  battle.  The  grand  procession  which 
on  the  19th  of  February,  842,  marched  to  the  church  of 
St.  Sophia,  and  there  paid  homage  to  the  images  of  that 
sumptuous  temple,  may  be  regarded  as  having  celebrated 
the  permanent  triumph  of  the  cause  of  image-worship 
in  the  Greek  Church.  It  should  be  noticed,  however, 
that  Greek  custom  bore  a  mark  of  compromise.  Only 
images  on  plane  surfaces,  in  painting  or  mosaic,  claimed 
recognition.  Sculptures,  which  the  West  had  no  scru- 
ple about  employing,  were  excluded  from  religious  uses 
by  the  East. 

It  remains  to  take  note  of  that  intermediate  position 
which  was  patronized  by  Charlemagne,  and  for  a  time 
was  accepted  by  a  considerable  portion  of  the  West. 
This  found  its  most  elaborate  exposition  and  defence  in 
the  "  Libri  Carolini,"  which  were  issued  in  the  name  of 
Charlemagne.  How  far  he  was  their  author  stands  in 
question.  The  suggestion  that  Alcuin  rendered  large 
assistance  to  his  sovereign  is  so  inherently  probable 
that  history  practically  assigns  to  him  a  foremost  place 
in  the  composition  of  these  books.  Their  teaching  was 
approved  by  the  Council  of  Frankfort,  held  under  the 
auspices  of  Charlemagne  in  794  ;  and  either  the  books 
in  full,  or  extracts  from  them,  were  sent  to  the  Pope. 
The  response  of  the  Pope  was  an  apology  for  image- 
worship,  but  it  had  little  weight  with  the  Church  in 
the  Prankish  domain.  A  synod  convened  at  Paris  in 
825  followed  the  Council  of  Frankfort  in  repudiating 


88  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

the  doctrine  and  the  authority  of  the  Second  Council  of 
Nicsea.  It  is  reported,  also,  that  the  same  ground  was 
taken  by  an  English  synod.  The  prominence  of  the 
Englishman  Alcuin  in  the  counsels  of  Charlemagne 
gives  a  certain  color  of  probability  to  the  report.  Con- 
temporary testimony,  however,  is  wanting.  Simeon  of 
Durham,  who  lived  not  far  from  1100,  was  the  first,  so 
far  as  is  known,  to  record  the  supposed  event.  Hefele, 
accordingly,  remarks  of  the  report,  that  it  does  not  have 
full  claim  to  credence  (Jiat  nicJit  vollen  Anspruch  auf 
GlauhwUrdigkeit')  .^ 

The  "  Libri  Carolini,"  while  taking  pains  to  disown 
the  iconoclastic  standpoint,  are  mainly  occupied  with  a 
polemic  against  image-worship.  The  tenor  of  their 
teaching  is  well  indicated  in  the  following  sentence  ; 
*'  Often  in  this  special  work  of  ours  respecting  images, 
we  are  compelled  to  confess  that  we  inhibit,  not  the  pos- 
session, but  the  adoration  of  images,  and  that  the  viewing 
of  them  as  they  are  placed  in  the  churches  for  ornament 
or  for  commemoration  of  deeds  is  not  to  be  eschewed, 
but  the  most  presumptuous  or  rather  superstitious  ado- 
ration of  them."  2  Under  the  category  of  superstitious 
adoration  or  worship,  the  "  Libri  Carolini ''  reckon  all 
acts  of  devotion,  such  as  prostrations,  burning  lights, 
presenting  incense.  They  consider  in  detail  the  argu- 
ments of  the  image-worshippers.  In  some  instances  the 
reply  is  put  with  as  much  discretion  as  vigor.  For  ex- 
ample, the  plea  that  homage  may  as  fitly  be  rendered  to 
the  images  of  saints  as  to  the  busts  of  the  Emperors,  is 
answered  with  the  declaration  that  one  evil  custom, 
the  product  of  unholy  pride  and  pomp,  cannot  be  made 
1  Conciliengeschichte,  §  403.  2  ljij,  jj  ^ap,  13. 


CONTR  0  VERSIES.  89 

an  excuse  for  another  evil  custom. ^  Again,  to  the  argu- 
ment that  images  are  necessary  to  revive  the  memory 
of  the  Saviour's  sufferings  and  works,  it  is  replied  that 
believers  instructed  in  the  gospel  history  have  a  perpet- 
ual memorial  of  Christ  placed  before  the  inner  vision ; 
whereas  those  who  depend  upon  outward  memorials  are 
liable,  through  blindness  or  other  mischance,  to  be 
robbed  of  the  means  of  remembering  Christ.^  While 
images  may  be  used  as  simple  memorials,  to  assert  their 
necessity  is  to  assert  a  degrading  dependence  of  Chris- 
tians upon  externals.  As  for  prodigies  that  are  said  to 
have  been  wrought  through  images,  it  should  be  known 
that  there  is  no  warrant  to  worship  everything  that 
may  happen  to  be  instrumental  in  a  wonderful  event; 
otherwise  we  should  be  compelled  to  bow  tlie  knee  to 
the  jaw-bone  of  the  ass  with  which  Samson  slew  a  thou- 
sand of  the  Philistines.^  Another  specimen  of  cutting 
criticism  is  contained  in  the  following  comments  passed 
upon  the  advice  of  the  abbot  to  the  tempted  recluse : 
*'  He  says  that  it  is  more  fitting  to  violate  the  temple 
of  God,  than  to  reject  the  worship  of  things  insensate. 
He  says  that  it  is  more  fitting  to  take  the  members 
of  Christ,  and  make  them  the  members  of  a  harlot, 
than  to  contemn  the  worship  of  any  craftsman's  work- 
manship."* 

The  "  Caroline  Books,"  while  the  ablest  exponent  of 
the  cause  to  which  they  were  devoted,  failed  to  attain 
a  thoroughly  consistent  and  rational  basis  for  opposition 
to  image-worship,  since  they  failed  to  repudiate  the  ven- 
eration of  saints  and  their  relics,  as  also  of  the  cross 

1  iii.  15.  2  iy.  2.  3  iii.  25.  *  iii.  31. 


90  THE  MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

symbol.^  There  were  two  men,  however,  who  lived  and 
wrote  in  the  closing  stages  of  the  iconoclastic  controversy 
who  had  the  boldness  to  declare  against  the  worship 
of  saints  as  well  as  against  that  of  images.  These  two 
men  were  Agobard,  Archbishop  of  Lyons,  and  Claudius, 
Bishop  of  Turin.2 

3.  Disputes  between  the  Greek  and  the  Latin  Church. — 
The  most  important  doctrinal  difference  between  the 
East  and  the  West  is  implied  in  the  fact  that  the  Augus- 
tinian  anthropology  never  became  current  in  the  former 
section.  This  difference,  however,  was  not  made  the 
ground  of  strife.  The  battle  was  waged  over  points  of 
far  less  significance.  Among  these  the  most  important 
was  the  question  whether  the  Spirit,  as  to  the  eternal 
mode  of  His  personal  subsistence,  proceeds  from  the 
Father  alone,  or  from  both  Father  and  Son.  The  Latin 
Church  became  attached  to  the  latter  position.  As 
early  as  589  a  synod  at  Toledo  inserted  the  filioque 
clause  in  the  Nicseno-Constantinopolitan  Creed,  thus 
making  the  creed  to  affirm  a  double  procession.  A  synod 
held  under  Charlemagne  in  809  decided  likewise  for  the 
double  procession.  The  Popes  at  this  date  were  indeed 
averse  to  changing  the  Nicene  formula,  but  they  favored 
the  doctrine  embodied  in  the  filioque  clause,  and  erelong 

1  ii.  28,  iii.  24. 

2  Agobard  indicates  unmistakably  his  position  in  the  following :  "  Dicit 
forsitan  aliquis  non  se  putare  iniagini  quam  adorat  aliquid  inesse  divi- 
num,  sed  tantummodo  pro  honore  ejus,  cujus  effigies  est,  tali  earn  vene- 
ratione  donare.  Cui  facile  respondetur,  quia  si  imago  quam  adorat, 
Deus  non  est,  nequaquam  veneranda  est,  quasi  pro  honore  sanctorum  qui 
nequaquam  divinos  sibi  arrogant  honores,  sicut  multis  jam  supra  testi- 
moniis  est  ostensum."  (Lib.  Cont.  eorum  Superstit.,  etc.  Compare 
Claudius,  Migne,  torn  civ.  col.  827.) 


CONTROVERSIES.  91 

the  Popes  and  the  West  iu  general  laid  aside  all  scruple 
about  inserting  the  clause  in  the  Creed.  The  East  also 
objected  to  the  enforced  celibacy  of  the  clergy  below 
the  rank  of  bishop,  and  criticised  the  Western  use  of 
unleavened  bread  in  the  eucharist.  There  were,  be- 
sides, some  minor  differences  respecting  the  observance 
of  fasts.  Such  matters,  it  would  seem,  should  not  have 
been  made  a  ground  of  separation.  And,  in  truth,  it 
may  be  doubted  whether  they  would  have  effected  a 
schism,  had  they  not  been  reinforced  by  causes  of  a 
much  greater  practical  force.  The  entering  wedge  was 
supplied,  above  all,  by  the  political  separation  of  the  two 
sections,  and  the  rivalry  between  the  bishops  of  the  two 
capitals.  This  rivalry,  which  early  made  its  appearance, 
was  naturally  imbittered  as  the  papal  claims  were  dis- 
tinctly asserted.  The  East,  whatever  flattering  tributes 
or  concessions  it  may  have  made  under  stress  of  tempo- 
rary exigencies,  was  never  actually  willing  to  accept  a 
constitutional  headship  in  the  Roman  Bishop.  Hence 
minute  differences  were  made  an  occasion  of  sharp 
polemics,  and  disagreement  was  aggravated  into  schism. 
The  separation  was  a  thing  of  gradual  accomplishment. 
Perhaps  the  crisis  is  most  suitably  located  at  the  middle 
of  the  eleventh  century,  when  Michael  Cerularius,  the 
Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  complained  of  the  Latin 
customs,  and  closed  the  churches  in  Constantinople  in 
which  worship  was  celebrated  according  to  the  Latin 
rites. 

4.  Local  Controversies  of  the  Latin  Church. —  Here 
belong  the  discussions  evoked  by  adoptionism,  the 
question  of  a  double  predestination,  and  transub- 
stantiation. 


92  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

The  term  Adoptionism  describes  a  peculiar  christo 
logical  development  which  found  in  the  last  half  of  the 
eighth  century  considerable  currency  among  Spanish 
Christians,  under  the  tuition  of  Elipandus  of  Toledo 
and  Felix  of  Urgelis.  Its  special  tenet  consisted  in 
the  affirmation  that  Christ,  as  to  His  humanity,  not 
being  naturally  the  Son  of  God,  needed  to  be  adopted 
in  order  properly  as  man  to  bear  this  title.  As  the  new 
teaching  appeared  to  be  spreading  in  his  domain,  Char- 
lemagne thought  it  incumbent  upon  himself  to  place 
it  under  censure.  It  was  accordingly  condemned  by 
several  synods  convened  under  his  auspices  in  the  last 
decade  of  the  eighth  centur}-. 

The  controversy  on  the  subject  of  predestination  in 
the  ninth  century  was  excited  by  the  zealous  and  stub- 
born defence  which  the  monk  Gottschalk  gave  to  his 
assertion  that  the  wicked,  or  the  non-elect,  are  predes- 
tinated to  eternal  death,  as  well  as  the  righteous  to  eter- 
nal life.  His  teaching,  though  perhaps  diverging  from 
the  form  of  statement  most  customary  with  Augustine, 
did  not  differ  materially  from  the  Augustinian  platform. 
Gottschalk,  however,  was  called  to  account ;  and,  while 
distinguished  sympathizers  with  his  doctrines  as  well  as 
with  his  personal  fortunes  were  not  wanting,  he  was 
obliged  to  suffer  a  rigorous  prosecution  for  heresy  at 
the  hands  of  Rabanus  Maurus,  Archbishop  of  INIentz, 
and  Hincmar,  Archbishop  of  Rheims.  He  was  cruelly 
scourged  (849),  and  then  sent  to  the  prison  in  which  he 
wore  out  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life.  Through  all 
his  sufferings  Gottschalk  retained  the  same  unbending 
mien ;  even  refusing  upon  his  death-bed  to  renounce 
aught  of  his  teachings  in  order   to  receive   the    com- 


CONTROVERSIES.  93 

munion,  and  gain  the  privilege  of  burial  in  consecrated 
ground.  This  controversy  was  not  specially  fruitful, 
and,  aside  from  the  personal  fortunes  of  Gottschalk,  is 
of  interest  only  as  indicating  the  attitude  of  the  age 
toward  strict  Augustinianism. 

As  the  theory  of  transubstantiation  was  formally 
enunciated  and  defended  in  the  ninth  century  by  Pas- 
chasius  Kadbertus,  the  leading  scholars  of  the  time,  such 
as  Ratramnus,  were  free  to  controvert  the  same,  and 
could  do  so  without  molestation.  But  the  drift  was 
such  through  the  following  era,  that  in  the  eleventh 
century  the  book  of  Ratramnus  at  one  of  the  synods, 
which  treated  of  the  eucharistic  question,  was  cast  into 
the  flames ;  and  Berengar,  the  spirited  and  somewhat 
violent  opponent  of  transubstantiation,  could  escape  a 
kindred  fate  only  by  recantation.  Even  the  good  will 
of  the  powerful  Hildebrand  was  ineffectual  to  shield 
him,  for  Hildebrand  found  the  current  of  opposition  to 
Berengar  so  strong  that  he  could  not  stem  it  without 
endangering  his  own  reputation  for  orthodoxy.  Being 
destitute  of  the  true  martyr  courage,  Berengar  twice 
(1059,  1079)  yielded  to  the  mandate  of  a  Roman  coun- 
cil, and  subscribed  to  the  irrational  dogma  which  in  his 
heart  he  loathed.  Berengar's  own  view  of  the  eucha- 
rist  was  of  the  same  order  as  had  been  largely  current 
among  the  fathers.  He  allowed  that  Christ  is  in  the 
holy  supper ;  only  maintaining  that  he  is  there  after 
the  analogy  of  a  spiritual  power  or  energy,  and  not  in 
the  way  of  a  bodily  presence.  Some  have  supposed  that 
Hildebrand's  sympathies  were  with  the  same  view, 
rather  than  with  transubstantiation.  Certainly  he  was 
not   so   strongly   attached  to  the    latter  dogma  as   to 


94  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH, 

be  concerned  for  his  own  part  to  persecute  Berengar's 
dissent  therefrom.  However,  there  is  no  adequate  war- 
rant for  a  positive  assertion  that  Hildebrand  disbelieved 
transubstantiation. 

5.  Heretical  Sects. —  The  most  important  of  these 
were  the  Paulicians.  They  originated  in  Armenia,  in 
the  seventh  century.  Before  the  close  of  the  same  cen- 
tury the  Byzantine  government  began  to  persecute 
them,  and  during  the  following  centuries  they  were 
made  the  victims  of  destructive  onslaughts.  As  their 
name  is  supposed  to  indicate,  the  Apostle  Paul  was  their 
chief  authority.  In  the  spirit  of  Marcion,  with  whose 
type  of  Gnosticism  they  had  a  close  affinity,  they  re- 
jected the  Old  Testament  and  the  Epistles  of  Peter. 
Ultra  spiritualism,  dualism,  and  docetism  were  distinc- 
tive features  in  their  system.  They  discountenanced 
all  outward  sacraments,  at  least  all  those  which  were 
practised  by  the  Catholic  Church  ;  imputed  the  physi- 
cal world  to  an  evil  deity  ;  and  denied  the  reality  of  the 
incarnation.  In  their  total  drift,  therefore,  they  were 
far  from  the  path  of  genuine  reform,  though  they  de- 
clared against  the  worship  of  saints  and  relics.  The 
Paulicians  are  said  to  have  taught  an  absolute  dualism. 
The  Bogomiles,  on  the  other  hand,  who  arose  within 
the  bounds  of  the  Greek  Church  in  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, inculcated,  like  the  earlier  appearing  Euchites,  a 
modified  dualism.  The  evil  deity,  as  they  conceived, 
is  the  eldest  son  of  God,  who  became  an  apostate  from 
his  first  estate.  They  were  also  less  radical  than  the 
Paulicians  in  dealing  with  the  Biblical  canon,  since  they 
accepted  some  portions  of  the  Old  Testament  as  well  as 
the  entire  New  Testament. 


CONTROVERSIES.  95 

Views  similar  to  those  of  the  Paulicians  and  Bogo- 
miles  were  held  by  the  obscure  sectaries  in  the  West, 
who  were  discovered  at  Orleans,  Arras,  and  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Turin  in  the  early  part  of  the  eleventh 
century.  At  Orleans  thirteen  of  them  were  burned  at 
the  stake  in  1022.  But  persecution  did  not  expel  the 
leaven  of  their  teachings.  Sectaries  holding  kindred 
views  were  found  in  the  following  centuries.  Among 
the  various  names  by  which  they  were  called,  that  of 
Cathari  was  perhaps  the  most  common.  An  account  of 
the  crusade  against  the  Albigenses  will  give  occasion  for 
a  reference  to  Catharist  belief  and  practice  in  the  next 
period. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CHUECH   CONSTITUTION   AND   DISCIPLINE. 
I.     THE  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  CHURCH  AND   STATE. 

AS  the  preceding  chapter  has  indicated,  the  Eastern 
branch  of  the  Church  continued  to  be  largely 
under  the  sway  of  the  Emperor.  He  was  not  strong 
enough,  indeed,  to  give  a  settled  ascendency  to  a  scheme 
of  doctrine  or  practice  that  was  contrary  to  the  convic- 
tions and  sympathies  of  the  majority  of  the  people. 
This  was  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  Monothelite  and 
Iconoclastic  controversies.  But  the  same  controversies 
show  how  wide  a  scope  individual  Emperors  gave  to 
their  interference  in  churcli  affairs,  and  to  how  large  an 
extent  they  were  able  to  enforce  their  pleasure  while  the 
sceptre  was  in  their  hands.  The  general  loss  of  inde- 
pendence on  the  part  of  the  bishops  was  but  poorly 
compensated  by  some  special  concessions,  such  as  the 
decree  of  Heraclius,  that  clergy  and  monks  were  to 
answer  for  crime,  not  before  the  civil,  but  before  the 
episcopal  tribunal. 

In  the  West  we  observe  a  very  mixed  state  of  affairs. 
If  the  barbarian  tribes  were  capable  of  a  superstitious 
reverence  for  the  priesth^  representative  of  God,  and 
gave   a    ready  assent  to  any  specious  token  of  super- 


CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE.  97 

natural  agency,  they  were  at  the  same  time  extremely 
fond  of  personal  liberty.  If  the  one  trait  made  them 
fit  subjects  for  the  encroachments  of  the  ecclesiastical 
power,  the  other  inclined  them  to  usurpations  against 
that  power.  The  history,  in  fact,  is  a  history  of  mutual 
encroachments  and  mutual  concessions,  of  alliance  and 
antagonism.  Church  and  State  alike  passed  through 
the  whole  scale  from  an  attitude  of  flattering  subservi- 
ency to  that  of  dictatorial  assumption. 

A  measure  of  charity  may  be  awarded  to  either  party. 
The  Church  certainly  could  plead  the  weightiest  mo- 
tives for  laying  her  hand  upon  the  administration  of  the 
State.  How  else  could  she  maintain  her  integrity 
against  the  rude  tribes  which  had  come  within  her 
borders  ?  The  temporal  power  with  which  she  stood 
face  to  face  was  often  little  better  than  brute  force. 
Princes  who  had  not  yet  gotten  out  of  sight  of  hea- 
then customs  and  traditions  needed  to  be  guided  and 
restrained  by  Christian  preceptors.  The  dignitaries  of 
the  Church  were  the  most  competent  educators.  Not 
only  were  they  the  chief  oracles  of  religious  truth,  but 
they  held  a  chief  place  as  respects  acquaintance  with 
Roman  jurisprudence  and  Roman  administration.  So 
the  demands  of  her  security  and  the  sense  of  her 
superiority  combined  to  urge  the  Church  to  strive 
for  superiority  of  prerogative. 

Among  the  subjects  which  the  Church  regarded  as 
falling  under  her  supervision  was  the  marriage  relation. 
She  claimed  the  right  to  declare  the  conditions  of  law- 
ful wedlock.  Thus  the  Synod  of  Mentz  in  813  forbade 
marriages  within  the  fourth  degree  of  relationship. 
Another  synod  convened  at  the  same  place  in  847  re- 

7 


98  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

peated  the  prohibition.  The  Synod  of  Bourges  in  1031 
extended  the  prohibition  to  the  sixth  or  seventh  degree  ; 
and  the  Synod  of  Rouen  in  1072  excluded  the  seventh 
from  the  permitted  degrees.^  In  England,  as  a  tem- 
porary concession,  Gregory  the  Great  allowed  marriage 
after  the  second  degree ;  in  the  eighth  century  the 
fourth  degree  was  inhibited ;  in  the  eleventh,  the  sixth 
degree.^ 

The  Church  claimed  also  the  right  to  regulate  matters 
of  testament  in  which  her  own  interests  were  involved. 
The  Synod  of  Paris  in  614  declared  that  no  one,  even 
under  color  of  a  royal  order,  is  to  be  allowed  to  touch 
the  goods  of  a  deceased  bishop,  or  of  any  other  de- 
ceased member  of  the  clergy,  till  the  proper  agent  of 
the  Church  has  ascertained  the  provisions  of  his  will ; 
and  that  lack  of  exact  accord  with  the  civil  form  is  not 
to  invalidate  the  bequests  of  the  clergy. 

The  payment  of  tithes  was  set  forth  by  two  councils 
in  France,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixth  century,  as  ob- 
ligatory upon  the  faithful ;  but  it  was  not  till  the  civil 
power  gave  its  aid,  under  the  Carlovingians,  that  the 
system  of  tithes  became  general  and  regular. 

The  Church  claimed  the  exemption  of  her  consecrated 
servants  from  the  ordinary  tribunals  of  justice.  The 
synods  of  Paris  and  Rheims  in  614  and  624  declared  for 
the  excommunication  of  the  secular  judge  who,  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  bishop,  should  for  any  cause 

1  Hefele,  Conciliengeschichte. 

2  Lingard,  Hist,  and  Antiq.  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church.  The  Peni- 
tential of  Theodore  says  :  "  In  tertia  propinquitate  carnis  licet  nubere 
secundum  Graecos,  in  quinta,  secundum  Romanos .  tamen  in  quarta  non 
Bolviint,  postquam  factum  fuerit." 


CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE.  99 

undertake  to  punish  one  of  the  clergy.  Other  synods 
laid  down  the  maxim,  that  crimes  of  the  clergy  should 
be  judged  by  the  clergy,  and  not  by  laymen.  Important 
as  was  this  claim,  it  seems  to  have  been  conceded  by  a 
capitulary  of  Charlemagne. 

In  some  instances  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church  were 
accorded  the  position  of  advisers  or  associates  of  the 
secular  judges.  Under  Reccared  in  Spain  it  was  or- 
dained that  judges  should  attend  the  synods  of  the 
Church,  that  they  might  learn  how  to  administer  piously 
and  justly.  In  France  bishops  and  nobles  frequently 
sat  together  in  council,  and  legislated  on  affairs  both  of 
Church  and  State.  In  England  the  bishops  ranked  with 
the  nobles,  and  were  regular  attendants  at  the  courts  of 
justice.  "  In  some  respects,"  says  Lingard,  "  the  arch- 
bishop enjoyed  privileges  in  common  with  the  monarch  ; 
for  his  word,  like  that  of  the  king,  was  received  in 
courts  of  justice  as  equivalent  to  his  oath,  and  he  pos- 
sessed the  right  of  granting  nine  days'  grace  to  the  of- 
fender whose  life  was  sought  by  the  family  of  an  injured 
or  murdered  man.  In  all  other  respects  he  was  placed 
on  the  same  footing  with  the  ethehng,  or  princes  of  the 
blood.  Other  bishops  ranked  as  ealdormen  above  the 
king's  thanes,  and  exercised  all  those  rights  and  en- 
joyed all  those  emoluments  to  which  the  ealdormen 
were  entitled.  .  ,  .  Each  bishop  attended,  either  person- 
ally or  by  his  archdeacon,  the  chief  courts  of  justice 
wdthin  his  diocese,  particularly  the  shiremotes,  which 
were  regularly  held  twice  in  the  year.  There  he  pre- 
sided in  compan}^  with  the  ealdormen,  '  that  they  might 
expound  God's  law  and  the  world's  law.' "  ^ 

i  Hist,  and  Antiq.  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church,  chap.  ii. 


^^ 


100  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

Instances  were  not  wanting  in  which  the  Church 
assumed  to  approach  directly  to  the  person  of  the  sov- 
ereign, and  to  impose  upon  him,  not  merely  spiritual 
censures,  but  sentence  of  deposition.  The  Pope,  as 
we  have  seen,  sanctioned  the  transfer  of  the  crown  to 
Pepin.  In  this  instance,  it  is  true,  there  was  the 
rendering  of  an  opinion,  rather  than  the  assumption  of 
plenary  authority.  But  in  the  next  century  there  was 
an  open  show  of  authority  to  transfer  crowns.  An  as- 
sembly of  bishops  adjudged  Lothaire  unworthy  to  reign, 
and  ordained  that  his  territories  should  be  divided  be- 
tween the  two  brothers  who  had  driven  him  from  his 
dominions,  —  Charles  the  Bald  and  Louis  of  Bavaria. 
Some  years  later  another  assembly  of  bishops  assumed 
to  discrown  Charles  the  Bald,  declared  his  subjects  re- 
leased from  their  allegiance,  and  transferred  his  realm 
to  Louis.i  The  case  is  noteworthy,  as  showing  that  the 
utmost  stretch  of  ecclesiastical  prerogative  has  not  been 
arrogated  by  the  Popes  alone. 

The  pressure  of  the  Church  upon  the  civil  domain 
was  evidently  attended  with  some  good  results.  It  was 
an  ameliorating  force  in  legislation.  This  appears  very 
distinctly  when  we  compare  the  Visigothic  code,  which 
was  largely  shaped  by  ecclesiastics,  with  the  other  bar- 
baric codes.  "  It  is  incomparably  more  rational,"  says 
Guizot,  "  more  just,  more  precise  ;  it  shows  a  better  un- 
derstanding of  the  rights  of  humanity,  of  the  duties  of 
government,  of  the  interests  of  society ;  it  strives  to 
attain  an  end  more  elevated  and  more  complex  than  all 
the  other  barbarian  codes.  But  at  the  same  time,  under 
the  political  point  of  view,  it  leaves  society  less  provided 
1  Hallam,  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages. 


CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE.  101 

with  guaranties ;  it  delivers  it  on  the  one  hand  to  the 
clergy,  on  the  other  to  royalty."  ^  The  drawback  men- 
tioned by  Guizot  is  of  course  to  be  estimated  in  connec- 
tion with  the  peculiar  conditions  of  the  age.  When  the 
tendency  was  to  anarchy,  centralization  of  power  in 
king  or  clergy  was  no  such  calamity  as  it  would  be 
in  a  more  settled  state  of  society.  Among  the  special 
results  of  church  influence,  we  may  note  the  progress 
that  was  made  toward  the  abolition  of  slavery.  The 
Church  steadily  encouraged  emancipation.  The  eccle- 
siastics themselves  may  not  always  have  been  forward 
to  set  the  example,  the  slaves  whom  they  possessed 
being  regarded  in  many  instances  as  corporate  property 
which  it  was  not  exactly  lawful  to  alienate ;  but  they 
encouraged  the  practice  in  laymen,  and  by  laws  for  the 
protection  of  the  slave,  as  well  as  by  the  frequent  prac- 
tice of  lifting  him  out  of  the  servile  state  to  the  honored 
rank  of  the  priesthood,  abridged  the  gulf  between  him 
and  other  men.  Gradually  the  right  of  sale  was  limited, 
and  slavery  passed  over  into  serfdom.  "  Towards  the 
end  of  the  eighth  century,  the  sale  of  slaves  beyond 
their  native  provinces  was  in  most  countries  prohibited. 
...  In  the  twelfth  century,  slaves  in  Europe  were  very 
rare.  In  the  fourteenth  century,  slavery  was  almost 
unknown."  2 

The  State,  on  its  part,  had  obvious  motives  for  tres- 
passing upon  the  domain  of  the  Church.  The  sovereign 
saw  in  the  Church,  not  merely  the  representative  of 
spiritual  rule,  but  a  wealthy  corporation  armed  with 
abundant  means  of  temporal  influence.     As  the  barba- 

1  Hist,  de  Civ.  en  France,  legon  x. 

2  Lecky,  History  of  European  Morals. 


102  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

rian  tribes  were  converted,  great  wealth  poured  into  the 
Church.  Under  their  old  heathen  regime^  they  were 
accustomed  to  make  satisfaction  for  a  great  variety  of 
crimes  by  the  payment  of  fines.  The  idea,  therefore, 
of  compensating  for  their  sins  by  offerings  to  the 
Church  was  congenial  to  their  traditions,  and  more- 
over was  kept  in  lively  remembrance  by  their  clerical 
instructors. 

The  language  of  the  Merovingian  King  Chilperic  is  a 
striking  indication  of  the  direction  of  the  stream  in  his 
day.  As  reported  by  Gregory  of  Tours,  he  was  wont 
to  complain  in  terms  like  these :  "  Behold,  our  treasury 
is  impoverished ;  behold,  our  riches  have  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  churches ;  bishops  alone  have  complete 
rule  j  our  honor  has  perished,  and  has  been  transferred 
to  the  bishops  of  the  cities."  By  gifts,  legacies,  and 
purchase,  the  Church  came  into  the  possession  of  im- 
mense landed  estates.  In  the  opinion  of  Hallam,  at  the 
maximum  of  her  ownership  she  held  nearly  one  half 
the  soil  of  England,  and  a  still  greater  proportion  in 
some  countries  of  continental  Europe. 

In  dealing  with  such  a  rival,  the  State  was  not  un- 
naturally tempted  to  the  use  of  some  rather  arbitrary 
expedients.  Sometimes  the  sovereign  had  the  bold- 
ness to  help  himself  to  a  share  of  ecclesiastical  prop- 
ert}^  More  frequently  the  nobles  laid  violent  hands 
upon  the  estates  and  the  riches  of  the  Church.  "  Both 
the  bishops  and  convents  were  obliged  to  invest  pow- 
erful lay  protectors,  under  the  name  of  advocates, 
with  considerable  fiefs,  as  the  price  of  their  assist- 
ance against  depredators.  But  these  advocates  became 
too  often  themselves  the  spoilers,  and  oppressed   the 


CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE.  103 

helpless  ecclesiastics  for  whose  defence  they  had  been 
engaged."  ^ 

The  chosen  expedient  of  the  temporal  rulers  for  ex- 
tending their  influence  over  the  ecclesiastical  domain  was 
the  control  of  the  higher  offices.  Among  the  Franks,  in 
particular,  the  royal  patronage  governed  wellnigh  the 
whole  episcopal  domain.  The  successors  of  Clovis  gave 
the  bishoprics  to  their  favorites,  to  those  who  made 
them  valuable  presents,  in  some  cases  to  those  who,  in 
the  open  practice  of  simony,  made  the  highest  bid. 
Protests  by  synods,  or  distinguished  Popes  like  Gregory 
the  Great,  effected  little  toward  checking  the  abuse. 
Charlemagne  restored  by  enactment  the  canonical  mode 
of  election,  but  in  practice  seems  to  have  given  a  wide 
sweep  to  his  own  will  and  pleasure  in  the  choice  of 
bishops.  Ill  the  disturbed  era  that  followed,  instances 
of  a  glaring  abuse  of  patronage  were  frequent.  "  A 
child  five  years  old,"  says  Hallam,  "  was  made  Arch- 
bishop of  Rheims.  The  see  of  Narbonne  was  purchased 
for  another  at  the  age  of  ten."  The  Roman  Catholic 
historian  Alzog  makes  this  broad  statement:  ^'Charles 
the  Bald  and  many  other  princes,  on  their  sole  motion, 
sent  priests  of  the  court  to  the  metropolitans  for  ordi- 
nation. Just  as  pliant  creatures  and  vicious  boys  were 
set  over  the  church  at  Rome  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh 
centuries,  so  fared  it  often  wath  the  bishoprics."  ^  In 
individual  instances  the  controlling  hand  of  the  prince 
reached  even  to  the  papacy  itself.  Otho  the  Great,  ioi- 
example,  used  his  influence  to  drive  out  one  Pope,  and 
sustained  the  one  installed  under  his  patronage  against 

1  H;illam,  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

2  Kirchengeschichte,  vol.  i.  §  192. 


104  THE   MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

rival  claimants.  An  equal  stretch  of  prerogative  was 
exemplified  by  Otho  III.  and  Henry  III. 

Lay  patronage  reached  also  to  the  lower  clergy.  In 
many  instances  the  privilege  which  a  law  of  Justinian 
had  given  to  those  founding  or  endowing  a  church,  en- 
titling them  to  a  certain  voice  in  the  choice  of  pastors, 
was  used  in  a  way  which  left  to  the  bishop  little  au- 
thority in  the  settling  of  priests. 

The  effect  of  this  encroachment  was  in  large  part 
disastrous  to  the  interests  of  the  Church.  The  royal 
C(:>ntrol  tended  at  once  to  secularize  the  episcopacy,  and 
to  promote  the  practice  of  simony.  The  bishops  were 
often  of  a  thoroughly  worldly  temper,  feudal  lords  not 
only  in  position  but  also  in  spirit.  Judging  from  the 
repeated  instances  of  legislation  against  the  bearing  of 
arms  by  ecclesiastics,  some  of  them  yielded  to  their 
fighting  propensities,  and  appeared  on  the  field  as  mili- 
tary captains.  Those  who  had  purchased  their  episco- 
pal rank  were  naturally  none  too  honorable  to  endeavor 
to  recompense  themselves  by  the  sale  of  such  offices  as 
came  within  their  control.  This  Simon  Magus  opera^ 
tion  was  shamefully  prevalent  in  the  tenth  century. 
No  wonder  that  the  more  thoughtful  minds  began  to  be 
gi-eatly  exercised  over  the  subject,  and  that  some,  like 
Hildebrand,  set  forth,  as  the  first  demand  of  a  reform 
movement,  the  expulsion  of  the  State  from  its  control- 
ling influence  over  the  offices  of  the  Church.  The 
mutual  aggressions  of  the  spiritual  and  the  temporal 
power  were  preparing  for  a  great  struggle. 


CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE.  105 


II.      THE   CLERGY   IN   GENERAL. 

While  the  clergy  embraced  the  larger  part  of  the 
learning  of  the  times,  it  was  a  very  humble  share  which 
fell  to  many  of  them.  Different  synods  thought  it 
necessary  to  recommend  to  the  priests  an  acquaintance 
with  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Apostles'  Creed.  As  is 
intimated  by  prohibitions  that  were  issued  from  time  to 
time,  not  a  few  in  holy  orders  had  more  interest  in  the 
hunt  or  in  the  adventures  of  war  than  in  study  or  any 
spiritual  task.  The  custom  of  the  nobles  to  have  pri- 
vate chapels,  over  which  they  appointed  their  own 
clients,  choosing  often  those  who  had  no  fitness  for  the 
office,  and  holding  them  in  a  subservient  relation, 
brought  many  unworthy  members  into  the  ranks  of 
the  clergy.  1 

Among  the  noteworthy  attempts  to  give  the  clergy 
a  better  education  and  discipline  was  that  which  was 
embodied  in  the  canonical  institutes  of  Chrodegang  of 
Metz,  at  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century.  This  man, 
who  was  at  once  a  prelate  and  a  statesman,  was  one  of 
the  most  enlightened  and  influential  ecclesiastics  of  the 
age.  To  secure  a  better  oversight  and  training  for  his 
clergy,  he  conceived  the  plan  of  gathering  them  into  a 
kind  of  college,  where  they  should  live  as  a  fraternity 
with  common  interests,  and  under  a  uniform  system  of 
rules.  The  rules  which  were  adopted  differed  little 
from  those  which  governed  Benedictine  monasteries, 
except  that  a  strict  renunciation  of  private  property  was 

^  See  Agobard  of  Lyons,  Ad  Bernardum  Episcopum,  De  Privilegio  et 
Jure  Sacerdotii,  S  11. 


106  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

not  required.  The  reform  scheme  of  Chrodegang  was 
copied  in  various  quarters.  Under  Charlemagne  and 
Louis  the  Pious,  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  govern- 
ment to  extend  its  application.  But  the  improvement 
achieved  was  only  local  and  temporary.  In  the  tenth 
century  the  canonical  institutes  themselves  became  sub- 
ject to  great  abuse.  An  attempt  in  the  eleventh  and 
twelfth  centuries  to  effect  a  reform  by  excluding  private 
property  gave  rise  to  a  new  order  of  canons,  who,  in  dis- 
tinction from  the  old,  were  called  canons  regular. 

One  of  the  most  troublesome  tasks  in  connection  with 
the  clergy  grew  out  of  the  celibate  scheme  to  which  the 
Church  in  the  West  was  committed.  The  clergy,  in 
one  form  or  another,  refused  to  conform  to  this  scheme. 
By  sins  of  impurity,  by  secret  wedlock,  or  hy  open  wed- 
lock, many  broke  through  the  restraints  imposed  upon 
them.  In  Wales  an  attempt  to  enforce  celibacy  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  tenth  century  entirely,  miscarried. 
"The  priests,"  says  a  Welsh  chronicle,  "  were  enjoined 
not  to  marry  without  the  leave  of  the  Pope,  on  which 
account  a  great  disturbance  took  place  in  the  diocese  of 
Teilaw,  so  that  it  was  considered  best  to  allow  matri- 
mony to  the  priests."  ^  In  England,  at  the  close  of  the 
tenth  century,  a  large  proportion  of  the  priests  lived  in 
relations  of  marriage.  ^Ifric,  a  noted  ecclesiastic  of 
the  time,  confessed  that  he  could  not  cope  with  the 
practice.  Though  he  earnestly  opposed  it,  he  still 
writes,  "  Beloved,  we  cannot  now  force  you  of  neces- 
sity to  chastity,  but  we  admonish  you  nevertheless  that 
ye  live  chastely  as  God's  ministers  ought."  ^     Cunibert, 

1  Haddan  and  Stubbs,  i.  285. 

2  Lingard,  Hist,  and  Antiq.,  chap.  iv. 


CONSTITUTION  AND   DISCIPLINE.  107 

Bishop  of  Turin,  carried  concession  still  further,  and 
freely  allowed  marriage  to  his  clergy,  as  the  most  fea- 
sible safeguard  against  prevalent  immorality.^  In  Ger- 
many many  openly  avowed  the  marriage  bond,  and 
were  ready  to  defend  their  practice  as  consonant  with 
the  precepts  of  the  New  Testament. 

The  history  of  the  councils  gives  ample  evidence  as  to 
the  strength  of  the  current  which  ecclesiastical  authority 
undertook  to  turn  back.     It  shows  also  how  restraint 
was  apt  to  be  avenged  by  unhallowed  license.     A  large 
number  of  synods,  such  as  that  at  Toledo  in  633,   at 
Rome  in  743,  at  Soissons  in  744,  at  Riesbach  and  at 
Freisingen  in  799-800,  and    at   Mentz  in  813,  forbade 
that   any   women  should  Uve  in  the  dwellings  of  the 
clergy,  except  a  near  relative,  more  especially  a  mother 
or  sister.      Several   synods,    as  that  of  Nantes  in  658, 
and  those  of  Mentz  and  Metz  in  888,  forbade  that  even 
near  relatives  of  the  female  sex  should  have  any  place 
in  the  dwellings  of  the  clergy  ;  the  first  two  declaring 
that  occasion  had  been  given  for  the  prohibition  by  the 
practice  of  incest.     Other  synods,  as  that  of  Friaul  in 
796  and  of  Pavia  in  876,  forbade,  in  general  terms,  the 
presence  of  any  women  in  the  abodes  of  the   clergy. 
The  Synod  of  Toledo  in  655,  and  that  of  Pavia  in  1018, 
ordained  that  the  children  who  might  be  born  to  those 
in  holy  orders,  whether  their   mothers  were  bond  or 
free,  should  remain  in  slavery,  and  be  the  property  of 
the  Church.2 

As  regards  the  general  state  of  the  episcopacy,  much 
has  been  indicated  by  the  previous  section.  We  notice 
here  only  a  few  special  features. 

1  Neander.  2  Hefele. 


108  TEE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

The  maxim  had  been  established  in  the  preceding 
period,  that  there  should  be  no  bishops  at  large,  no 
ordination  to  the  episcopal  office  except  in  connection 
with  a  specific  diocese.  In  the  present  period  we  find 
the  same  rule  repeated  ;  as,  for  example,  by  the  Synod 
of  Aachen  in  789.  But  the  peculiar  conditions  of  mis- 
sionary work  made  it  convenient  at  times  to  break  over 
the  rule.  The  precedent  being  thus  supplied,  advantage 
was  taken  of  it  in  cases  where  there  was  no  demand 
for  departure  from  the  general  custom  ;  and  unworthy 
aspirants,  gaining  ordination  by  simony,  made  a  trade 
of  their  office. 

References  to  country  bishops  (^chorepiscopoi)  indicate 
that  this  class  of  dignitaries  still  held  a  place  in  the 
Church.  But  the  motive  for  referring  to  them  was  the 
desire  to  emphasize  their  inferiority,  and  to  limit  their 
powers.  The  Synod  of  Paris  in  829,  after  designating 
the  bishops  as  successors  of  the  apostles,  and  the  country 
bishops  as  successors  of  the  seventy  disciples,  declared 
that  some  of  the  latter  were  guilty  of  usurpation  in  that 
they  assumed  to  administer  the  rite  of  confirmation. 
The  Synod  of  Metz  in  888  pronounced  the  country 
bishops  incompetent  to  dedicate  churches,  since  in 
reality  they  are  the  same  as  presbyters  (iidem  sunt 
qui   et  preshyteri)} 

A  peculiar  infringement  upon  the  episcopal  preroga- 
tives had  place  for  a  large  part  of  the  period  in  Scotland 
and  Ireland.  In  both  of  these  countries,  monasticism 
gave  the  standard  by  which  official  eminence  was  esti- 
mated, and  the  bishop  was  subordinated  to  the  abbot. 
The  Abbot  of  lona  was  the  ecclesiastical  chief,  not  only 

1  Hefele. 


CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE.  109 

of  the  monks  upon  that  island,  but  also  of  the  neighbor- 
ing Scots  and  Picts.  This  fact  was  noticed  by  Beda. 
"That  island,"  he  says,  "has  for  its  ruler  an  abbot, 
who  is  a  priest,  to  whose  direction  all  the  province,  and 
even  the  bishops,  contrary  to  the  usual  method,  are 
subject,  according  to  the  example  of  their  first  teacher, 
who  was  not  a  bishop,  but  a  priest  and  monk."  ^  Under 
this  r^gime^  it  would  seem  that  the  bishop  ordinarily, 
perhaps  exclusively,  discharged  the  function  of  ordain- 
ing ;  but  in  general  authority  and  jurisdiction  he  stood 
below  the  abbot.  Another  peculiarity  was  the  absence 
of  definite  gradations  among  the  bishops,  and  of  dioce- 
san superintendence.  "  Archbishop  "  at  this  time  was 
only  an  honorary  title  in  Ireland.  The  country  was  not 
divided  up  into  dioceses,  and  the  bishops  were  in  gen- 
eral scarcely  more  than  pastors  of  single  congregations. 
Two  or  more  bishops  often  were  found  in  connection 
with  the  same  town,  church,  or  monastery.  These  ir- 
regularities were  taken  note  of  in  other  countries,  and 
canons  were  passed  to  the  disparagement  of  the  Scot- 
tish ecclesiastics  (including  the  Irish  under  this  term, 
as  Ireland  rather  than  Scotland  was  called  Scotia  far 
into  the  Middle  Ages).  The  Synod  of  Chalons  on  the 
Saone  in  813  decreed  that  ordinations  by  Scottish  bish- 
ops should  be  regarded  as  null ;  and  at  the  Synod  of 
Calcuith  in  816  the  English  prelates  forbade  that  any  of 
the  nation  of  the  Scots  should  be  allowed  to  celebrate 
the  sacraments,  or  minister  otherwise  in  the  rites  of  the 
Church.  As  the  bonds  were  strengthened  with  Rome, 
there  was  of  course  an  approximation  to  the  Roman 
model.    At  the  Synod  of  Rathbreasail  in  1110,  diocesan 

1  Book  iii.  chap.  4. 


110  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH.  ^ 

episcopacy  was  established  in  Ireland,  and  in  other  re- 
spects the  Irish  polity  was  conformed  to  that  of  the 
Church  at  large. ^ 

On  the  Continent,  if  abbots  were  in  no  cases  made 
the  superiors  of  bishops,  they  were  sometimes  placed 
substantially  on  a  parity  with  them.  By  favor  of  the 
Pope,  cloisters  were  sometimes  exempted,  in  important 
respects,  from  episcopal  jurisdiction.  This  was  of  quite 
frequent  occurrence  in  the  eleventh  century. 

In  the  previous  centuries  the  bishops  had  been  wont 
to  make  the  archdeacon  a  special  assistant,  —  a  kind  of 
vicar-general.  In  the  present  period  a  plan  was  intro- 
duced which  provided  for  several  archdeacons  within  a 
single  diocese.  Heddo,  Bishop  of  Strasburg,  seems  to 
have  been  the  originator  of  this  plan.  We  find  him  in 
774  asking  Pope  Adrian  I.  to  confirm  the  division  of  his 
diocese  into  seven  archdiaconates.'^ 

The  circumstances  of  the  age,  on  the  whole,  were  not 
favorable  to  the  growth  of  the  metropolitan  system. 
While  the  efforts  of  the  missionary  Boniface  gave  it  an 
advantageous  introduction,  there  were  adverse  influences 
in  the  way  of  its  complete  establishment.  Wealth  and 
patronage  sometimes  made  a  simple  bishop  quite  a  matcli 
for  his  metropolitan.  Moreover,  the  disposition  of  the 
bishops  to  prefer  a  distant  master  to  one  near  at  hand, 
and  their  consequent  habit  of  appealing  to  the  Pope, 
ministered  to  the  exaltation  of  the  papal,  at  the  expense 
of  the  metropolitan  dignity. 

1  Killen,  Eccl.  Hist,  of  Ireland ;  Grub,  Eccl.  Hist,  of  Scotland ;  Todd, 
St.  Patrick. 

2  Alzog.  §  163. 


CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE.  Ill 


III.  —  THE  PAPACY. 

While  the  drift  of  events  was  toward  the  establish- 
ment of  the  papal  theocracy,  conspicuous  obstacles  had 
to  be  encountered  on  the  way  to  this  goal.  There  were 
temporal  rulers  of  independent  spirit,  who  cherished  no 
thought  of  subordination  to  an  ecclesiastic.  As  the 
case  of  Martin  I.  shows,  the  Eastern  Emperor,  while 
his  power  extended  over  the  Western  capital,  some- 
times made  bold  to  treat  a  disagreeing  Pope  simply  as 
a  refractory  subject ;  and  some  of  the  Western  rulers 
made  it  evident  that  even  in  ecclesiastical  affairs  they 
were  ready  to  assert  their  own  will  as  opposed  to  that 
of  the  Popes.  Charlemagne,  for  example,  in  opposition 
to  the  known  and  long-standing  position  of  the  Popes, 
openly  declared  against  the  worship  of  images. 

There  were  also  prelates  who  had  the  boldness  to 
openly  antagonize  the  Popes.  As  Gregory  IV.  came 
into  France  to  throw  the  weight  of  his  authority  into 
the  struggle  between  Louis  the  Pious  and  his  rebellious 
sons,  the  bishops  who  sided  with  the  Emperor  plainly 
intimated  that  he  might  just  as  well  dispense  with  his 
unrighteous  interference,  that  they  stood  in  no  awe  of 
his  prerogatives,  and  that,  if  he  should  undertake  to 
excommunicate  them,  he  should  himself  go  away  ex- 
communicated. Toward  the  close  of  the  next  century, 
Arnulf,  Bishop  of  Orleans,  in  opposition  to  the  dictum 
that  the  Pope  alone  was  the  judge  of  bishops,  declared 
that  papal  authority  has  its  conditions ;  that  one  who 
is  destitute  of  charity  and  is  puffed  up  with  the  pride 
of  learning  sits  in  the  temple  of  God  as  an  Antichrist, 


112  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

while  one  who  has  neither  charity  nor  learning  is  only 
a  statue  or  an  idol  in  the  temple,  to  seek  a  response  from 
whom  is  like  taking  counsel  of  the  marble.  Referring 
to  one  of  the  most  flagitious  of  the  Popes,  he  exclaimed, 
"  Is  it  then  established,  that  to  such  shameful  monsters, 
who  are  lacking  in  all  knowledge  of  things  divine  and 
human,  numberless  priests  in  the  whole  world  who  are 
distinguished  by  learning  and  nobility  of  living  must 
be  subject  ?  "  ^  Gerbert,  the  contemporary  of  Arnulf, 
used  equally  plain  terms ;  maintaining  that  a  Roman 
bishop  who  has  sinned  against  his  brethren,  and  refused 
to  listen  to  the  repeated  admonitions  of  the  Church,  is 
to  be  treated  as  a  heathen  and  a  publican.^  Evidently 
such  powerful  voices  as  these  only  needed  the  proper 
allies  to  be  able  to  throw  a  very  serious  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  papal  supremacy. 

The  greatest  hindrance,  however,  to  the  achievement 
of  the  papal  ideal,  was  the  base  lives  of  some  of  the 
Popes,  and  the  degradation  of  the  office  under  the  ma- 
nipulation of  Italian  factions.  A  large  part  of  the  tenth 
century  and  the  earlier  portion  of  the  eleventh  were,  in 
particular,  a  season  of  disgrace  with  the  papacy.  In 
the  former  century  the  chair  of  Peter  passed  under  the 
control  of  the  Marquises  of  Tuscan}^  the  Counts  of  Tus- 
culum,  and,  above  all,  the  trio  of  infamous  women,  The- 
odora and  her  two  daughters,  Marozia  and  Theodora. 
For  half  a  century  the  papal  dignity  was  the  spoil  of 
the  ambitions  and  intrigues  of  these  women.^    The  para- 

1  Concil.  Remense,  anno  991,  cap.  xxviii.     Mansi,  xix.  131-133. 

2  Epist.  ad  Segwinum,  Migne,  torn,  cxxxix.  col.  267. 

3  We  find  here  perhaps  the  nearest  approach  to  a  female  representa- 
tive of  the  papal  dignity.  The  story  that  a  woman,  wlio  had  success- 
fully disguised  her  sex,  was  elected  as  the  successor  of  Leo.  IV  (855), 


CONSTITUTION  AND   DISCIPLINE.  113 

moiirs  and  the  progeny  of  harlots  wore  the  crown  which 
had  graced  the  brow  of  Gregory  the  Great.  Among 
these  the  palm  of  infamy  was  won  by  Octavian,  who 
styled  himself  John  XII.,  and  thus  supplied  the  prece- 
dent for  assuming  a  new  name  which  his  successors 
liave  followed.  According  to  the  impeachment  of  a 
Roman  synod  convened  under  Otho  the  Great  in  963, 
there  is  hardly  a  gross  crime  in  the  catalogue  of  which 
John  XII.  was  not  guilty.  It  was  charged  against  him, 
that  he  had  committed  arson,  homicide,  adultery,  and 
incest ;  that  he  had  drunk  to  the  health  of  the  devil, 
and  implored  the  help  of  Jupiter  and  Venus  at  the 
gambling-table.^  Alzog  remarks  of  this  Pope,  that  "  he 
heaped  an  excess  of  disgrace  and  shame  upon  the  apos- 
tolic dignity."  2 

The  interference  of  the  German  Emperors  lifted  the 
burden  of  infamy  from  the  papacy  for  only  a  short 
interval.  In  the  eleventh  centur}^  the  chair  of  Peter 
again  became  the  spoil  of  local  factions.  A  rival  in 
wickedness  of  John  XII.  appeared  in  Benedict  IX. 
Placed  by  patronage  and  power  upon  the  papal  throne 
at  the  age  of  twelve,  he  made  his  crimes  to  correspond 
to  his  extraordinary  advancement.  Even  the  debauched 
Romans  grew  weary  of  his  excesses,  and  drove  him  from 
the  city,  installing  Sylvester  III.  in  his  place.  But 
Benedict  managed  to  reinstate  himself.  He  then  sold 
out  the  papal  office,  for  a  thousand  pounds  or  more  of 
silver,  to  Gregory  VI.  Repenting,  however,  of  his  bar- 
though  very  largely  credited  from  the  thirteenth  to  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, is  now  regarded  as  an  exploded  fable.  (See  Dollinger,  Die  Papst- 
fabeln  des  Mittelalters,) 

1  Liutprandus,  Liber  de  Rebus  Gestis  Ottonis  Magni  Imperatoris,  §  10. 

2  §  188. 

8 


114  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

gain,  he  again  set  up  as  Pope.  There  were  now  three 
claimants  of  the  papal  chair.  Again  the  Empire,  in  the 
person  of  Henry  III.,  interfered.  All  three  claimants 
were  put  aside.  A  far  more  respectable  order  of  Popes 
was  introduced,  preparing  the  way  for  the  powerful  and 
far-reaching  sovereignty  of  Gregory  VII. 

It  is  quite  evident,  that,  in  order  to  surmount  these 
hindrances,  the  papacy  must  have  been  favored  with 
special  means  for  strengthening  its  position  and  advan- 
cing its  power.     Among  these  we  note  the  following. 

1.  Popes  of  Extraordinary  Ability  and  Force  of  Char- 
acter. —  The  administration  of  a  great  pontiff  was  mani- 
festly such  a  blessing,  under  the  existing  conditions, 
that,  in  spite  of  many  unworthy  incumbents,  it  gave  a 
value  to  the  office  in  the  estimate  of  the  nations  of 
Europe.  In  the  present  period,  there  were  at  least  two 
men  who  were  qualified  to  give  majesty  to  the  papal 
prerogatives,  and  to  make  a  deep  impression  as  to  the 
benefits  of  pontifical  sovereignty.  These  two  were 
Gregory  the  Great  and  Nicolas  I. 

Gregory  (590-604)  came  to  the  papal  throne  at  a 
time  of  disruption  and  gloomy  prospects.  Italy  was 
trembling  before  the  encroaching  Lombards.  It  seemed 
as  though  the  last  days  had  come,  and  the  world  had 
reached  the  eve  of  dissolution.  Gregory  himself  shared 
the  conviction  that  the  end  was  near,  if  we  may  judge 
from  his  graphic  description.  "The  cities,"  he  says, 
"  are  depopulated,  the  castles  overturned,  the  churches 
burned,  the  monasteries  and  nunneries  destroyed,  the 
farms  despoiled  of  men  and  destitute  of  a  cultivator ; 
the  land  lies  in  empty  solitude,  no  possessor  inhabits  it ; 
the  beasts  have  entered  into  occupancy  of  the  places 


CONSTITUTION  AND   DISCIPLINE.  115 

that  formerly  were  held  by  a  great  multitude  of  men. 
What  indeed  is  transpiring  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
I  know  not ;  but  in  this  land  in  which  we  live,  the 
end  of  the  world  is  not  merely  announced,  but  made 
manifest.''  ^ 

In  this  crisis  Gregory  took  the  helm.  By  reason  of 
his  commanding  influence  he  was  virtually  temporalas 
well  as  spiritual  ruler  in  Rome.  According  to  his  own 
testimony,  it  was  a  source  of  profound  grief  to  him  that 
he  was  obliged  to  deal  so  largely  with  the  affairs  of 
the  world.  In  numerous  epistles  he  complains  that 
his  office  had  snatched  him  away  from  the  sphere  ,of 
heavenly  contemplations,  and  plunged  him  into  such  a 
tumult  of  earthly  tasks  and  complications  as  to  leave 
scarce  any  room  for  divine  communion.^  And  in  truth, 
though  he  may  have  been  better  pleased  with  the  papal 
dignity  than  his  words  indicate,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
as  to  his  laborious  engrossment;  for  he  extended  his 
oversight  over  matters  far  and  near.  In  general  he  ad- 
ministered with  breadth  of  spirit,  with  discretion,  with 
justice,  and  with  paternal  kindness  to  the  weak,  the 
oppressed,  and  the  unfortunate.  He  was  capable  of 
preferring  the  spirit  to  the  letter,  the  advantage  of  souls 
to  the  honor  of  traditional  forms.  He  wrote  to  a  Span- 
ish bishop,  in  reply  to  his  question  on  the  mode  of  bap- 
tism, that  within  the  one  faith  there  might  be  diversity 
of  custom  without  prejudice  to  the  Church.^  He  an- 
swered the  missionary  Augustine  in  a  like  spirit,  and 
told  him  that  he  should  feel  free  to  adopt  good  institu- 

1  Dialogi,  lib.  iii.  cap.  28. 

2  Migne's  collection,  lib.  i.  epist.  6,  6,  26,  30,  31. 
8  Epist.  i.  43. 


116  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

tions  wherever  he  might  find  them,  whether  in  the 
Roman  Church  or  elsewhere.^  In  many  instances  he 
reprobated  the  disposition  of  the  people  to  violent  and 
arbitrary  conduct  toward  the  Jews.^  He  esteemed  him- 
self in  particular  the  patron  of  widows  and  orphans, 
and  charged  his  agents  to  see  to  it  that  no  unjust  exac- 
tions were  practised  against  the  peasants  who  cultivated 
the  papal  farms.^ 

The  record  of  Gregory,  it  is  true,  has  its  revelation 
of  weakness,  not  to  sa}^  of  moral  obliquity.  He  gave  a 
ready  assent  to  the  superstitions  of  his  age.  His  Dia- 
logues are  a  mass  of  marvellous  tales,  such  as  the  utmost 
credulity  alone  could  take  pleasure  in.  The  w^ay  in 
which  he  answers  the  request  of  the  Empress  for  relics 
of  the  Apostle  Paul  is  truly  astonishing.*  His  proposal 
to  exempt  such  Jews  as  should  embrace  Christianity 
from  a  part  of  the  payments  ordinarily  required,  does 
not  show  a  very  delicate  regard  for  the  supremac}^  of 
purely  spiritual  considerations.^  In  one  instance  he 
departs  from  the  maxim  of  tolerance  which  he  usually 
urged,  and  advises  one  of  his  bishops  of  the  propriety 
of  using  corporal  punishments,  to  a  certain  extent, 
against  persistent  worshippers  of  idols.^  Especially  ex- 
posed to  criticism  were  Gregory's  joyful  and  flattering 
congratulations  to  Phocas,  the  bloody  usurper  who  over- 
threw the  Eastern  Emperor  Maurice.  Unless  Gregory 
was  strangely  ignorant  of  the  character  and  the  doings 
of  Phocas,  this  certainly  was  a  sad  blot  upon  his  record; 
since  it  reveals  him  as  indulging  a  grudge  which  he  had 
entertained  against   Maurice,  in  a   spirit   and    manner 

1  Epist.  xi.  64.  2  i.  10,  35,  47,  ix.  6,  xiii.  12.  8  {,  44^  64. 

*  iv  30.  5  V.  8.  «  ix.  65 


CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE.  117 

alike  unseemly  and  unchristian.^  But  while  censure 
has  its  place,  Gregory,  taken  all  in  all,  was,  for  his  age, 
an  eminent  and  commanding  example  of  the  Christian 
bishop. 

Though  his  tone  was  less  lofty  than  that  of  some  of 
his  successors,  Gregory's  view  of  his  office  did  not  fall 
much  short  of  the  fall  papal  theory.  He  disclaimed, 
it  is  true,  high-sounding  titles,  such  as  "  universal  pope  " 
and  "  universal  bishop."  But  he  had  a  special  incentive 
to  this.  To  disclaim  such  titles  gave  greater  force  to 
his  criticism  of  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople  for 
styling  himself  universal  bishop.  Gregory  complained 
bitterly  of  the  assumption  of  the  Eastern  prelate,  and 
declared  it  a  fitting  introduction  to  the  proud  and  god- 
less reign  of  Antichrist.  Nevertheless,  in  the  very  let- 
ters in  which  he  voices  his  complaints,  he  claims  for  the 
Roman  see  that  general  oversight  of  the  Church  which 
one  might  naturally  connect  with  the  rejected  name.^ 
Boniface  III.,  therefore,  was  adding  little  or  nothing  to 
the  actual  claims  of  the  papacy,  when,  a  few  years  after 
Gregory's  death,  he  accepted  from  Phocas  the  title 
which  had  been  so  obnoxious  to  his  illustrious  prede- 
cessor. 

Nicolas  I.  (858-867)  adopted  a  very  lofty  tone  in 
dealing  with  princes  and  prelates.  Indeed,  he  fell  little 
short  of  the  dictatorial  manner  of  the  most  powerful 
autocrats  who  ruled  from  the  chair  of  Peter  in  the 
crowning  era  of  the  papal  theocracy.  Like  Gregory 
the  Great,  he  gave  dignity  to  his  assumptions  by  the 
moral  animus  which  in  general  distinguished  his  admin- 
istration. 

1  Epist.  xiii.  31,  38.  2  See  Epist.  v.  18,  20,  21,  ix.  68. 


118  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

Nicolas  I.  had  three  noteworthy  encounters  :  (1)  with 
Photius  as  the  candidate  of  the  Eastern  Emperor  for 
the  episcopal  throne  of  Constantinople  ;  (2)  with  King 
Lothaire  II. ;  (3)  with  Archbishop  Hincmar  and  the 
bishops  associated  with  him.     In  the  first  instance  the 
occasion  for  interference  was   given   by  the  arbitrary 
and  unjust  action  of  the  government  at  Constantinople 
in  deposing  Ignatius  and  installing  Photius  as  patriarch. 
Since  the  rival  parties  sued  for  the  support  of  Nicolas, 
he  had  a  very  plausible  ground  for  asserting  his  au- 
thority.    From  the  first  he  spoke  as  a  man  conscious  of 
his  headship  over  the  whole  oi  Christendom.     Having 
satisfied  himself  that  the  right  was  with  Ignatius,  he 
boldly  espoused  his  cause,  repudiated  the  action  of  his 
own  legates,  who  had  been  seduced  into  an  approval  of 
his  deposition,  and  declared  him  restored  to  his  high 
office.     The  edict  of  restitution  is  a  good  example  of 
the  commanding  tone  of  Nicolas.     An  abridged  version 
by  Milman  is  as  follows  :  "  We,  by  the  power  committed 
to  us  by  our  Lord  through  St.  Peter,  restore  our  brother 
Ignatius  to  his  former  station,  to  his  see,  to  his  dignity 
as  patriarch,  and  to  all  the  honors  of  his  office.     Who- 
ever, after  the  promulgation  of  this  decree,  shall  presume 
to  disturb  him  in  the  exercise  of  his  office,  separate  from 
his  communion,  or  dare  to  judge  him  anew  without  the 
consent  of  the  apostolic  see,  if  a  clerk,  shall  share  the 
eternal  punishment  of  the  traitor  Judas ;  if  a  layman, 
he  has  incurred  the  malediction  of  Canaan,  —  he  is  ex- 
communicate, and  will  suffer  the  same  fearful  sentence 
from  the  Eternal  Judge."  ^     The  effect  of  this  edict,  it 
must  be  allowed,  was  not  proportionate  to  its  authori- 

1  See  Migne,  Nicolai  Epist.  et  Decret.  xlvi. 


CONSTITUTION  AND   DISCIPLINE.  119 

tative  tone.  Photius  was  a  very  able  opponent,  and 
the  success  of  his  claim  to  the  episcopal  throne  of  Con- 
stantinople depended  rather  upon  the  fluctuations  of 
the  imperial  government  than  upon  the  decrees  of  the 
Roman  pontiff. 

The  attempt  of  Nicolas  to  discipline  King  Lothaire 
was  occasioned  by  the  scandalous  conduct  of  that  prince 
in  repudiating  his  lawful  wife,  Teutberga,  and  marrying 
his  mistress,  Waldrada.  For  all  this,  it  is  true,  he  had 
the  sanction  of  the  local  church  authorities.  But  the 
flimsiness  of  the  pretexts  by  which  he  and  his  clergy 
had  justified  the  cruel  treatment  of  the  repudiated 
queen  could  not  stand  any  searching  scrutiny.  Nicolas 
was  not  to  be  deceived.  He  ordered  the  case  to  be  re- 
opened before  a  new  council,  in  the  presence  of  his 
legates.  Bribery  and  royal  influence  again  secured  a 
verdict  in  favor  of  Lothaire.  This,  however,  had  no 
effect  upon  Nicolas,  except  to  stir  him  to  increased 
energy.  He  declared  that  a  council  which  had  stooped 
to  the  patronage  of  an  adulterer  was  no  council  at  all, 
deposed  the  leading  prelates  who  had  so  demeaned  their 
ofiice,  and  proclaimed  them  incompetent  for  any  priestly 
function.  He  menaced  the  King  with  the  anathema, 
and  pressed  the  case  against  every  shift  and  intrigue. 
Both  the  King  and  the  prelates  were  humbled,  and 
the  Pope  looked  toward  complete  victory,  when  death 
snatched  him  from  the  scene. 

The  controversy  with  Hincmar  was  provoked  by  the 
action  of  this  able  and  high-spirited  prelate  in  deposing 
Rothad,  the  Bishop  of  Soissons.  Nicolas  championed 
the  cause  of  the  deposed  bishop,  and  restored  him  to  his 
diocese.     It  was  an  early  instance  in  which  the  Galli- 


120  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

can  principle  gave  way  to  the  Ultramontane.  Nicolas 
took  pains  to  assert  the  latter  in  the  most  unmistakable 
terms.  The  central  authority  of  the  papacy,  as  he 
maintained,  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  limited  by  the  local 
authority  of  metropolitans.  The  Pope  has  the  right  to 
draw  the  case  of  any  bishop  before  his  tribunal,  whether 
it  may  have  been  previously  committed  to  a  local  tribu- 
nal or  not.  He  alone  is  armed  with  plenary  authority 
to  judge  bishops. 

The  impression  made  by  the  reign  of  Nicolas  I.  is 
well  indicated  by  the  following  description  from  a  con- 
temporary chronicler ;  "  Since  the  days  of  the  blessed 
Gregory,  no  bishop  has  been  raised  to  the  pontifical 
throne  in  the  city  of  Rome  who  can  be  compared  to 
him.  He  reigned  over  kings  and  tyrants,  and  subdued 
them  to  his  authority,  as  if  he  were  the  master  of  the 
world.  He  was  humble,  mild,  and  benevolent  to  pious 
bishops  and  priests,  who  obeyed  the  precepts  of  the 
Lord,  terrible  and  extreme  in  his  rigor  towards  the  im- 
pious, and  those  who  forsook  the  way  of  right ;  so  that 
one  might  say  that  another  Elias  had  been  raised  up  in 
our  times  at  the  voice  of  God,  if  not  in  body,  at  least 
in  spirit  and  power.*'  ^ 

The  benefits  of  such  powerful  administrations  as 
those  just  described  were  too  marked  to  escape  ap- 
preciative attention.  Very  properly,  therefore,  they 
have  been  given  a  place  among  the  aids  to  papal  su- 
premacy. 

2.  The  Absence  of  any  other  Centre  of  Croveryiment, 
and  the  Anarchical  State  of  Society.  —  The  fall  of  the 
Western  Empire  left  the  Bishop  of  Rome  the  most  con- 

1  Chron.  de  Reginon,  quoted  by  Guizot. 


CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE.  121 

spicuous  representative,  in  the  West,  of  a  central  au- 
tiiority.  For  a  short  time,  it  is  true,  the  towering  form 
of  Charlemagne  attracted  the  attention  of  men,  and  the 
civil  power  overshadowed  the  ecclesiastical.  But  the 
empire  of  Charlemagne  soon  went  to  pieces.  Society 
was  separated  into  fragments.  What  wonder,  then,  that 
a  feeling  of  reverence  and  appreciation  was  drawn  to- 
ward that  abiding  throne  which  through  all  vicissitudes 
held  its  place  at  the  seat  of  ancient  empire  ? 

3.  Patronage  of  Missionary  Enterprise  hy  the  Roman 
Bishops. —  Missionaries  who  went  forth  from  Rome 
naturally  laid  a  foundation  for  Roman  supremacy  in 
the  churches  which  they  instituted.  The  Anglo-Saxon 
Church  under  Augustine  and  his  successors,  and  the 
German  Church  under  Boniface,  furnish  ample  illus- 
tration. 

4.  Appeals  of  Contending  Parties. —  Mindful  only  of 
the  ends  immediately  before  them,  and  careless  of  the 
ultimate  result  in  the  centralization  of  power,  those 
who  were  engaged  in  a  quarrel  would  flatter  the  pre- 
rogatives of  the  Pope  by  appeahng  to  him  in  the  hope 
of  securing  his  patronage.  In  fact,  the  overgrown 
practice  of  appealing  to  the  Popes  virtually  invited 
them  to  assume  the  full  stretch  of  prerogatives  which 
they  finally  arrogated  to  themselves. 

5.  Acquisition  of  Temporal  Sovereignty.  —  This,  no 
doubt,  was  not  an  unmixed  gain.  The  poor  spectacle 
which  some  of  the  Popes  made  as  temporal  rulers  served 
to  lessen  the  prestige  which  they  might  have  won  from 
their  ecclesiastical  headship.  Still,  a  measure  of  impor- 
tance accrued  to  the  papacy  from  its  temporal  power. 
The  foundation  of  this  was  the  grant  made  by  Pepin  in 


122  THE  MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

755,  and  renewed  by  Charlemagne.  The  grant  included 
the  territory  of  the  exarchate,  with  some  additions. 
According  to  a  fiction  long  since  exploded,  this  terri- 
tory was  primarily  conferred  on  the  Roman  see  by  Con- 
stantine.  Adrian  I.  in  a  letter  to  Charlemagne  made 
mention  of  donations  by  the  first  Christian  Emperor, 
and  in  the  ninth  century  a  document  purporting  to 
give  the  actual  form  of  the  transfer  was  brought  for- 
ward. The  real  donation  of  Constantine,  it  is  under- 
stood, did  not  extend  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Lateran 
palace.  The  grant  of  Pepin  and  Charlemagne  no  doubt 
assigned  to  the  Pope  a  certain  sovereignty  over  the 
territory  in  question.  But  it  was  not  a  complete  and 
independent  sovereignty.  The  papal  estates  were  not 
regarded  as  beyond  the  reach  of  the  imperial  sceptre.^ 
Charlemagne  and  later  Emperors  claimed  and  exercised 
within  them  a  certain  ill-defined  jurisdiction.  It  was 
only  by  gradual  advances  that  the  Popes  added  to  their 
spiritual  dignity  the  full  status  of  temporal  rulers. 

6.  False  Decretals.  —  At  the  middle  of  the  ninth  cen- 
tury a  collection  of  documents  appeared  under  the  name 
of  Isidore,  referring  perhaps  to  the  Spanish  bishop  of 
the  seventh  century.  The  collection  now  passes  un- 
der the  name   of  the  Pseudo-Isidore  Decretals.^     The 

1  A  public  act  of  Leo  III.  clearly  acknowledged  the  obligation  of 
Rome  to  Charlemagne  as  respects  civil  allegiance.  Says  Einhard  : 
*'  Romae,  Adriano  defuncto,  Leo  pontificatum  suscepit,  et  mox  per  legatos 
suos  claves  confessionis  Sancti  Petri  ac  vexillum  Romanae  urbis  cum  aliis 
muneribus  regi  raisit,  rogavitque  ut  aliquem  de  suis  optimatibus  Romam 
mitteret,  qui  populum  Romanum  ad  suam  fidem  atque  subjectionem  per 
sacramenta  firmaret.  Missus  est  ad  hoc  Angilbertus,  abbas  monasterii 
sancti  Richarii."  (Annales  Francorum,  sub  anno  796.) 

2  Among  the  earliest  references  to  these  decretals  is  that  of  Hincmar 


CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE.  123 

forgery  is  apparent  to  scholarship  at  a  glance,  especially 
on  account  of  the  glaring  anachronisms  indulged.     Nev- 
ertheless, the  collection  was  quoted  by  Nicolas  I.  a  few 
years  after  its  appearance,  and  was  honored   through 
the  Middle  Ages  as  a  genuine  authority.     It  includes 
about   one   hundred    forged   decretals   of    the    Roman 
bishops,  sixty  of  these  being  referred  to  a  period  ante- 
rior to  the  death  of  Melchiades  in  314,  some  genuine 
decretals  of  later  bishops   corrupted  by  interpolations, 
the  spurious  account  of  the  donation  of   Constantine, 
and  canons  belonging  to  different  centuries.    The  stand- 
point assumed  is  that  of  the  extreme  hierarchical  claims. 
Strong  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  high  position  and 
the  immunities  of  the  clergy.     The  bishops  in  particu- 
lar are  exempted  from  any  lower  jurisdiction  than  that 
of  the  sovereign  pontiff.     The  immediate  aim  may  not 
have  been  to  enlarge  the  papal  prerogatives.     There  are 
indications  that  the  ruling  purpose  was  to  support  the 
clergy  in  general  against  the  domination  of  the  secular 
power,  and  the  bishops  in  particular  against  the  author- 
ity of  the  metropolitans.     The  Pope  is  called  in  as  the 
patron,  of  the  bishops.     But  the  effect  is  the  same  as  if 
the  chief  design  were  the  strengthening  of  the  papacy. 
The  Popes,  above  all  others,   derived  advantage  from 
the  fraud.     It  was  a  broad  stone  in  the  foundation  of 
spiritual  absolutism,  and  has  been  not  inaptly  described 
as  ''  the  boldest,  most  stupendous,  and  most  successful 
forgery  that  the  world  has  seen."^ 

of  Rheims,  who  objected  not  so  much  to  their  genuineness  as  to  the  use 
wliich  was  made  of  them  by  Hincmar  of  Laon.     (Capitula  adv.  Hincma- 
rum  Laudunensem,  xxiv.) 
1  Henry  C.  Lea,  Studies  in  Church  History. 


124  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

7.  The  Provision  for  a  Mode  of  Electing  the  Popes 
which  gave  the  Matter  into  the  Hands  of  the  Higher 
Clergy  of  Rome.  —  The  Second  Lateran  Council,  con- 
vened in  1059  under  Nicolas  II.,  ordained  that  the 
cardinal  bishops,  or  heads  of  the  suburban  churches  of 
Rome,  should  have  the  initiative.  Then  the  concur- 
rence of  the  cardinal  priests  and  deacons  was  to  be 
asked,  and  finally  that  of  the  laity.  For  the  Pope  thus 
elected,  the  confirmation  of  the  Emperor  was  to  be  so- 
licited. But  this  part  of  the  decree  was  worded  rather 
ambiguously,  and  the  council  very  likely  cherished  the 
expectation  that  in  time  the  form  of  asking  the  Em- 
peror's confirmation  might  be  dispensed  with.  Thus 
was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  modern  method  of  elect- 
ing a  Pope.  The  new  measure  was  evidently  favorable 
to  the  independence  of  the  papacy. 

8.  The  Asserted  Right  of  the  Pope  to  confirm  all  Elec- 
tions of  Bishops.  —  This  development  belongs  to  the 
closing  part  of  the  period.  "  By  a  constitution  of 
Alexander  IL,"  says  Hallam,  ''  no  bishop  in  the  Cath- 
olic Church  was  to  be  permitted  to  exercise  his  func- 
tions until  he  had  received  the  confirmation  of  the  Holy 
See,  a  provision  of  vast  importance,  through  which, 
beyond  perhaps  any  other  means,  Rome  has  sustained, 
and  still  sustains,  her  temporal  influence,  as  well  as  her 
ecclesiastical  supremacy."  The  hand  of  Hildebrand 
may  be  discerned  in  this  constitution.  A  few  years 
later,  he  was  to  demonstrate  how  ampl}'-  the  factors 
which  we  have  enumerated  had  prepared  the  ground 
for  papal  absolutism. 


CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE.  125 


IV.  —  DISCIPLINE. 


Stated  confession  to  a  priest  was  not  prescribed  by 
any  ecumenical  decree,  but  was  extensively  practised. 
The  rule  of  Chrodegang  required  those  in  his  insti- 
tutes to  confess  twice  a  year,  and  it  may  be  supposed 
that  it  was  counted  appropriate  for  the  laity  to  con- 
fess about  as  often. ^  For  open  sins  a  public  penance 
was  imposed.  Those  who  confessed  secret  sins  were 
privately  absolved,  though  under  condition  of  a  cer- 
tain penance.  The  performance  of  the  penance  was 
often  subsequent  to  absolution.  After  the  latter  part  of 
the  seventh  century,  penitential  books,  or  manuals  giving 
instructions  for  the  proper  management  of  the  confes- 
sional, began  to  be  much  used. 

The  view  entertained  as  to  the  ground  of  confession, 
or  the  penitent's  relation  to  the  priest,  was  at  least  in 
part  the  same  as  in  the  previous  period.  For  example, 
Theodulfus,  Bishop  of  Orleans,  near  the  end  of  the 
eighth  century,  emphasized  the  function  of  the  priest  as 
an  adviser  respecting  the  appropriate  satisfactions,  and 
not  his  prerogative  jadicially  to  absolve.^  Throughout 
the  period  absolution  seems  to  have  been  expressed  in 
the  form  of  a  supplication  to  God,  rather  than  in  that 

1  It  was  first  in  1215  that  the  minimum  was  fixed  at  once  a  year  for 
all  Christians  having  reached  the  age  of  discretion. 

2  "  Confessio  quam  sacerdotibus  faciraus,  hoc  etiam  nobis  adminicu- 
lum  afiert,  quia  accepto  ab  eis  salutari  consilio,  saluberrimis  poenitentiae 
observationibus,  sive  mutuis  orationibus,  peccatorum  maculas  diluimus. 
Confessio  vero,  quam  soli  Deo  facimus  in  hoc  juvat  quia  quanto  nos  me- 
mores  sumus  peccatorum  nostrorum,  tanto  horum  Dominus  obliviscitur." 
(Capit.  ad  Presbyt.  Paroch.  suae,  xxx.) 


126  THE  MEDLEVAL   CHURCH. 

of  a  judicial  sentence.^  This  fact  has  been  ackno\vl- 
edged  by  man}^  Roman  Catholic  writers.  Amort  speaks 
of  it  as  generally  recognized  by  the  learned  in  his  day.- 
Special  points  regarding  the  practice  of  confession  in 
the  Celtic  Church  have  been  given  as  follows :  "  (1)  It 
was  public  rather  than  private.  An  old  Irish  canon 
speaks  of  confession  of  sins  in  the  presence  of  priest 
and  people.  (2)  It  was  optional  rather  than  compul- 
sory. .  .  .  Alcuin,  writing  to  certain  brethren  in  Ireland, 
urged  the  practice  of  confession,  and  complained  that 
it  was  reported  that  none  of  the  laity  were  willing  to 
make  their  confession  to  the  priests.  (3)  It  was  not 
the  custom  to  pronounce  absolution  until  after  the 
penance  assigned  had  been  fulfilled."  ^  In  all  of  these 
points  the  customs  of  the  Celtic  Church  differed  from 
the  later,  not  from  the  earlier,  practice  of  the  Church 
at  large. 

1  The  following  are  some  of  the  forms  used  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
period  :  — 

"  Ab  omnibus  judiciis  quaB  tibi  pro  peccatis  tuis  debentur,  secundum 
misericordiam  suam,  omnipotens  Deus  te  absolvat,  et  parcat,  et  remittal, 
ac  deleat  omnia  peccata  tua,  et  perducat  atque  introducat  te  in  vitam 
aeternam.  Amen."  (H.  J.  Schmitz,  die  Bussbiicher  und  die  Bussdis- 
ciplin  der  Kirche,  p.  757.) 

"Per  istam  reram  et  puram  confessionem,  quam  modo  mihi  quamvis 
peccatori  sacerdoti  Christi  fecisti,  absolvat  te  omnipotens  Deus  ab  omni- 
bus judiciis,  quae  tibi  pro  peccatis  tuis  debentur,  secundum  multitudinera 
miserationura  suarum  antiquarum,  et  parcat  ac  remittat  et  deleat  omnia 
peccata  tua  et  perducat  te  ad  vitam  aeternam.    Amen."     (Ibid.,  p.  778.) 

2  "  Ab  omnibus  enim  aut  certe  plerisque  viris  eruditis  nunc  admittitur, 
ante  saeculum  duodecimum  aut  undecimum,  formam  absolvendi  fuisse 
deprecatoriam."  (De  Origine,  Progressu,  Valore,  ac  Fructu  ludulgen- 
tiarum.  Pars  I.  §  2,  p.  3.) 

3  F.  E.  Warren,  The  Liturgy  and  Ritual  of  the  Celtic  Church,  pp. 
148-150. 


CONSTITUTION  AND   DISCIPLINE.  127 

A  peculiar  mixture  of  severity  and  laxity  character- 
ized the  administration  of  discipline.  As  an  example  of 
the  former,  we  have  the  long  periods  of  penance  that 
were  occasionally  imposed.  Thus,  a  monk  who  struck 
a  brother  of  his  order  was  condemned  to  do  penance  for 
twelve  years,  during  five  of  which  he  was  excluded  from 
the  communion.  In  the  penitential  books  from  seven 
to  ten  years  of  penance  are  found  charged  against  no 
inconsiderable  list  of  offences.  But  these  prolonged 
punishments  became  less  and  less  frequent.  Indul- 
gences began  to  be  multiplied.  It  was  discovered  that 
penance  could  be  made  materially  profitable  to  the 
Church,  as  well  as  spiritually  fruitful  to  the  subject  of 
discipline.  So  instead  of  lengthened  fasts,  and  exclu- 
sion from  the  privileges  of  Christian  communion,  pay- 
ments of  money  and  the  accomplishing  of  a  pilgrimage 
were  accepted.^  Protests  against  this  practice  were  not 
wanting,  as  by  the  Council  of  Cloveshoe  in  747,  and  of 
Mentz  in  847 ;  but  by  the  tenth  century  it  was  largely 
current,  and  was  attended  with  the  evil  results  which 
combined  laxity  and  legalism  always  produce.  One  of 
the  crudest  manifestations  of  a  shallow  legalism  was 
the  practice  of  calling  in  others  who  should  expedite 
matters  by  sharing  the  penance.  Lingard,  in  describ- 
ing this  practice  among  the  Anglo-Saxons,  says :  "  Men 
were  willing  to  persuade  themselves  that  they  might 
atone  for  their  crimes  by  substituting,  in  place  of  their 

1  In  the  Poenitentiale  Romanum,  which  Schmitz  places  at  the  middle 
of  the  eighth  century,  we  read :  — 

"  Si  quis  forte  non  potuerit  jejunare,  et  habuerit,  unde  dare  possit  ad 
redimendum,  si  dives  fuerit,  pro  septem  hebdomadibus  det  solidos  xx ; 
si  autem  non  habuerit  tantum  unde  dare  possit,  det  solidos  x ;  si  autem 
multura  pauper  fuerit,  det  solidos  iii."    (p.  473.) 


128  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

own,  the  austerities  of  mercenary  penitents.  It  was 
in  vain  that  the  Council  of  Cloveshoe  thundered  its 
anathemas  against  their  disobedience  :  the  new  doctrine 
w^as  supported  by  the  wishes  and  the  practice  of  the 
opulent ;  and  its  toleration  was  at  length  extorted  on 
the  condition  that  the  sinner  should  undergo  in  person 
a  part  at  least  of  his  penance.  The  thane  who  sub- 
mitted to  embrace  this  expedient  was  commanded  to 
lay  aside  his  arms,  to  clothe  himself  in  woollen  or  sack- 
cloth, to  walk  barefoot,  to  carry  in  his  hand  the  staff 
of  a  pilgrim,  to  maintain  a  certain  number  of  poor,  to 
watch  during  the  night  in  the  church,  and  when  he 
slept  to  repose  on  the  ground.  At  his  summons,  his 
friends  and  dependents  assembled  at  his  castle;  they 
also  assumed  the  garb  of  penitence ;  their  food  was 
confined  to  bread,  herbs,  and  water  ;  and  these  austeri- 
ties were  continued  till  the  aggregate  amount  of  their 
fasts  equalled  the  number  specified  by  the  canons. 
Thus,  with  the  assistance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
associates,  an  opulent  sinner  might,  in  the  short  space 
of  three  days,  discharge  the  penance  of  a  whole  year. 
But  he  was  admonished  that  it  was  a  doubtful  and 
dangerous  experiment ;  and  that,  if  he  hoped  to  ap- 
pease the  anger  of  the  Almighty,  he  must  sanctify  his 
repentance  by  true  contrition  of  heart,  by  frequent 
donations  to  the  poor,  and  by  fervent  prayer."  ^ 

The  principal  engines  of  discipline  in  dealing  with 
the  refractory  were  the  excommunication  and  the  inter- 
dict. The  former  was  distinguished  as  the  lesser  and  the 
greater  ;  the  one  suspending  from  participation  in  the 
sacraments,  the  other  excluding  from  the  Church  under 

1  Hist  and  Antiq.,  chap.  vii. 


CONSTITUTION  AND  DISCIPLINE.  129 

anathema.  The  interdict  commonly  applied  not  merely 
to  the  person  of  the  offender,  but  to  a  greater  or  less 
portion  of  his  country. ^  It  might  be  imposed  upon  a 
whole  county  for  a  noble,  or  upon  an  entire  realm  for  a 
prince.  While  an  interdict  was  in  force,  the  rites  of 
religion  were  for  the  most  part  suspended.  No  services 
were  held  in  the  churches,  at  least  none  which  were  not 
back  of  closed  doors.  No  marriage  could  be  solemnized, 
no  flesh  eaten,  no  religious  burial  granted,  except  to 
priests,  beggars,  and  children  not  above  the  age  of  two 
years.  In  fine,  the  whole  land  was  regarded  as  resting 
under  a  penal  shadow.  Interdicts  were  not  often  im- 
posed till  the  next  period.  Some  assign  the  first  in- 
stance to  the  year  1031,  when  the  county  of  Limoges 
was  placed  under  interdict  on  account  of  the  refusal  of 
the  nobles  in  that  quarter  to  keep  the  peace  ;  but  there 
appear  to  have  been  a  few  minor  cases  at  an  earlier 
date. 

The  excommunication,  as  a  spiritual  penalty,  is  the 
common  prerogative  of  religious  society,  a  legitimate 
weapon  against  those  who  profane  the  Christian  bond. 
In  the  Middle  Ages,  however,  excommunication  was 
something  more  than  a  means  of  spiritual  censure.  It 
had  very  serious  temporal  consequences.  Intercourse 
with  the  excommunicate,  except  on  the  part  of  depend- 
ents, was  itself  made  punishable  with  excommunication. 
So,  for  example,  the  Council  of  Metz  in  888  ordained. 
In  some  cases,  also,  the  civil  power  bound  itself  to  a  kind 

1  In  the  ultimate  definition  of  the  subject,  the  interdict  was  distin- 
guished, (1)  as  personal,  local,  or  mixed,  according  as  it  immediately 
affects  a  person,  a  place,  or  both  together ;  (2)  as  general  or  particular, 
according  as  it  extends  to  a  whole  region,  or  is  restricted  to  a  particular 
church,  to  a  chapel,  or  to  specified  individuals. 

9 


130  THE   MEDIJEVAL   CHURCH. 

of  persecution  of  those  who  had  been  thus  unchurched, 
and  prochiimed  their  disabilities  before  the  law.^  As  for 
the  interdict,  in  the  form  which  it  frequently  assumed, 
it  was  an  attempt  at  high-handed  terrorism,  which  did 
not  scruple  to  trample  on  the  rights  of  innocent  thou- 
sands in  order  to  humble  a  single  object  of  a  righteous 
or  unrighteous  indignation. 

1  According  to  English  law  the  excommunicate  person  could  enter  into 
no  legal  contracts,  and  could  have  no  place  in  court.  No  one  was  author- 
ized to  eat  with  him,  or  even  to  speak  to  him.  If  he  remained  under  ex- 
communication forty  days,  the  bishop  could  apply  to  the  king  for  his 
arrest  and  imprisonment  until  he  should  give  satisfaction  to  the  Church. 
In  Germany  the  government  was  equally  pledged  to  sustain  spiritual 
censures.  Sweden  had  perhaps  the  severest  requisition.  Laws  in  force 
till  the  Reformation  provided  that,  if  a  man  remained  under  excom- 
munication for  a  year  without  seeking  absolution,  the  king  should  put 
him  to  death.     (Lea,  Studies  in  Church  History.) 

The  extent  to  which  such  laws  were  executed  depended,  of  course,  in 
no  small  degree,  upon  the  temper  of  the  sovereign  and  his  existing  rela- 
tions with  the  spiritual  power. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

WORSHIP  AND   LIFE. 

ON  this  subject,  the  closing  part  of  the  preceding 
period  drew  very  distinctly  the  diagram  for  the 
present.  As  there,  so  also  here,  we  find  high  concep- 
tions of  divine  service  and  religious  living  mixed  with 
great  crudities  in  theory  and  practice.  The  Christian 
ideal  was  obscured  by  incongruous  additions,  rather  than 
denied.  At  one  point  or  another  it  received  recogni- 
tion from  multitudes  of  devout  men  and  women. 

1.  Sunday.  —  In  the  observance  of  Sunday,  the  legis- 
lation took  the  standard  from  the  stricter  of  the  views 
and  regulations  which  had  place  in  the  preceding  cen- 
turies. An  English  synod  near  the  close  of  the  seventh 
century  ordained  that,  if  a  master  should  set  a  slave  to 
work  on  Sunday,  the  slave  should  be  free,  and  the  mas- 
ter be  required  to  pay  a  fine.  If  the  slave  went  to  work 
of  his  own  motion,  he  was  to  be  scourged,  or  pay  a  fine. 
The  freeman  who  should  work  on  Sunday  was  to  for- 
feit his  freedom,  or  pa}^  a  considerable  sum  of  money. 
For  a  priest  the  sum  was  to  be  doubled.^  Other  synods, 
as  those  of  Rheims  and  Aries  in  813,  Rome  in  826,  and 
Paris  in  829,  prohibited  trade  and  servile  labor  on 
Sunday. 

1  Hefele,  §  329. 


132  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

2.  Preaching.  —  The  importance  of  preacliing,  as  a 
factor  in  the  Sunday  service,  was  not  overlooked  by  the 
more  enlightened  minds  of  the  age.  Chrodegang  of 
Metz,  and  Alcuin,  strongly  emphasized  the  indispensa- 
ble need  of  preaching  for  the  religious  education  of  the 
people.  Various  synods,  as  that  of  Rheims  in  813,  and 
of  Pavia  in  876,  instructed  the  bishops  to  give  heed  to 
the  subject.  Still,  there  was  wide-spread  and  persistent 
neglect.  A  large  proportion  of  the  priests  were  incom- 
petent to  prepare  a  sermon.  If  they  were  to  preach, 
the  sermon  must  of  necessity  be  put  into  their  posses- 
sion. This  was  acknowledged ;  and  to  meet  the  case, 
it  was  ordained  that  a  collection  of  homilies  from  the 
writings  of  the  fathers,  which  were  to  be  translated 
into  the  vernacular,  should  be  in  the  hands  of  bishops 
and  priests.^ 

3.  Baptism.  —  The  correspondence  of  Gregory  the 
Great  with  the  Spanish  bishop  —  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made  —  indicates  that  the  Latin  Church, 
as  well  as  the  Greek,  customarily  administered  baptism 
by  the  threefold  immersion.  Gregory  decided,  however, 
that  a  single  immersion  was  equally  valid.  In  the  ad- 
ministration of  baptism,  various  supplementary  rites 
were  added  to  the  application  of  water.  Lingard,  de- 
scribing Anglo-Saxon  customs,  says  of  the  candidate, 
"  He  was  now  anointed  on  the  crown  with  the  chrism 
in  the  form  of  the  cross,  and  a  white  linen  cap  called  a 
chrismal  was  fastened  over  his  head.  If  the  bishop 
were  present,  he  was  first  confirmed  ;  if  not,  he  pro- 
ceeded immediately  to  the  church,  and  attended  at  the 

1  So  Charlemagne,  the  Synods  of  Rheims  and  Tours  in  813,  and  the 
Synod  of  Mentz  m  847- 


WORSHIP  AND  LIFE,  133 

mass.  The  rites  of  the  day  were  concluded  by  his  par- 
taking of  a  mixture  of  milk  and  honey,  which  was  given 
to  him  to  taste,  as  a  token  that  he  was  now  introduced 
into  the  congregation  of  Christ,  the  true  land  of  prom- 
ise, of  which  the  land  of  Canaan  had  been  only  the 
figure."  ^  Clinic  baptism,  though  in  ill  repute,  seems, 
as  in  the  earlier  centuries,  to  have  been  regarded  as 
valid  baptism.2  Indeed,  the  Latin  Church  never  re- 
garded immersion  as  of  the  essence  of  baptism.  The 
preferred  time  for  baptism  was  Easter.  The  Synod  of 
Tribur  in  895  decreed  that  only  in  case  of  necessity 
should  baptism  occur  at  any  other  times  than  Easter 
and  Whitsuntide. 

4.  The  Eucharist.  —  If  in  the  previous  period  the 
Church  had  been  disposed  to  attribute  a  mystical  signif- 
icance to  the  eucharist,  and  to  emphasize  the  sacrificial 
element  therein,  in  the  present  centuries  a  loose  rein 
was  given  to  both  tendencies.  The  consecrated  bread 
and  wine  were  regarded  as  such  only  in  appearance,  — 
a  veil  to  conceal  the  glorified  body  of  the  Redeemer, 
which  had  taken  the  place  of  their  substance.  It  was 
not,  however,  till  the  latter  part  of  the  period  that  the 
dogma  of  transubstantiation  won  a  thorough  ascendency. 
With  this  dogma  came  the  complete  theoretical  basis 
for  the  eucharist  as  a  sacrifice.  Unbounded  stress  was 
placed  upon  this  aspect.  The  table  of  communion  was 
superseded  by  the  altar  of  sacrifice.  The  main  idea  be- 
came the  presentation  of  an  efficacious  offering  for  the 
living,  and  for  the  dead  in  purgatory.  In  some  cases, 
so  far  was  the  idea  of  fellowship  lost  sight  of,  that  the 
priest   conducted   the   eucharistic   service   entirely    by 

1  Chap.  vii.  2  gynod  ol  Paris,  829 ;  Hefele,  §  428. 


134  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

himself.  This  was  not  an  illogical  outcome  of  the  sac- 
rificial theory,  but  it  was  too  plainly  at  variance  with 
Christian  tradition  not  to  be  challenged.  The  Synod  of 
Mentz  in  813  forbade  the  practice,  as  discordant  with 
the  language  of  the  liturgy.  One  of  the  results  of  the 
awful  sanctity  attached  to  the  elements  was  the  with- 
drawal of  the  cup  from  the  laity.  This  result,  however, 
was  not  reached  till  a  later  date.  The  laity  still  re- 
ceived, though  not  generally  at  frequent  intervals,  an 
unmutilated  feast.  ''  During  the  whole  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  period,"  says  Lingard,  "  it  was  administered 
under  both  kinds,  first  to  the  clergy  of  the  Church, 
and  then  to  the  people."  ^  Following  primitive  custom, 
there  were  prescriptions  for  mixing  water  with  the  wine. 
The  Synod  of  Tribur,  in  895,  specified  that  there  should 
be  two  parts  of  wine  to  one  of  water.  We  note  also 
that  sjmodal  action  was  taken  on  the  manner  of  receiv- 
ing the  eucharistic  bread,  providing  that  it  should  be 
placed  in  the  mouth  rather  than  in  the  hand  of  a  lay 
person.^ 

5.  Worship  of  Samts  and  Relics,  —  The  worship  of 
saints  and  their  relics  formed  one  of  the  most  character- 
istic  features  of  the  age.  That  this  was  carried  to  a 
gross  extreme  is  allowed  by  those  who  might  be  sup- 
posed to  be  most  charitable  toward  the  mediaeval  model. 
"  The  frequent  neglect  of  popular  instruction,"  says 
Alzog,  "  necessarily  engendered  with  the  people  a  su- 
perficial, materialistic  tendency,  which  made  alliance 
with  manifold  superstitions,  especially  a  wellnigh  hea- 
thenish reverence  for  saints  and  relics."  ^  Saints  were 
really  accorded  the  place  of  patron  deities  by  the  un- 

i  Chap,  vii.  2  Hefele,  §  290.  3  §  200. 


WORSHIP  AND  LIFE.  135 

thinking  multitude.  Martin  of  Tours  received  as  many 
prayers  from  admiring  devotees  in  Gaul  as  ever  the 
heathen  population  of  the  region  offered  up  to  one  of 
their  gods.  In  some  instances  the  form  of  the  petition 
vied  in  crudeness  with  any  heathen  address  to  a  deity. 
The  petitioner,  it  is  said,  sometimes  made  bold  to  de- 
clare to  the  saint,  that,  if  he  did  not  grant  the  request, 
no  more  lights  should  be  burned  before  his  shrine,  or 
other  honors  rendered. 

Relics  were  assigned  all  the  virtue  which  the  heathen 
associated  with  their  amulets.  They  were  employed  to 
solemnize  covenants,  and  instances  are  on  record  in 
which  the  transfer  of  a  relic  v/as  formally  entered 
among  the  stipulations  of  a  treaty.  The  Second  Coun- 
cil of  Nicsea  decreed  that  no  churches  should  be  conse- 
crated without  relics.  The  value  of  the  merchandise 
naturally  acted  upon  the  supply.  The  chroniclers  of 
the  time  give  us  to  understand  that  bogus  relics  were 
paraded,  and  penurious  and  worthless  men  suborned  to 
give  them  credit  by  sudden  recovery  from  an  apparent 
lameness  or  sickness.  Sometimes  the  stealing  of  relics 
was  condoned  in  virtue  of  the  benevolent  intent  of  the 
thief  to  benefit  the  region  to  which  the  treasure  was 
conveyed. 

A  love  of  the  marvellous  gathered  about  both  the 
saint  and  his  relics  an  innumerable  group  of  legends, 
tales  of  marvellous  doings  and  workings.  The  Lives 
of  the  Saints  became  an  enormous  literature.  To  the 
modern  investigator  they  are  largely  a  wilderness,  an 
interminable  mass  of  fiction,  from  which  it  is  difficult 
to  detach  any  trustworthy  materials  for  real  biographies. 
But  to  the  mediaeval  mind  nothing  was  of  more  interest. 


136  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

"  As  these  Lives  were  circulated  freely  in  the  language 
of  the  people,  they  would  constitute  important  items  in 
the  fireside  readings  of  the  age  ;  and  so  warm  was  the 
response  which  they  found  in  men  of  every  grade,  that 
notwithstanding  feeble  efforts  to  reform  them,  or  at 
least  to  eliminate  a  few  of  the  more  monstrous  and 
absurd,  they  kept  their  hold  on  Christendom  at  large, 
and  are  subsisting  even  now  in  the  creations  of  the 
mediaeval  artist."  ^ 

The  evident  lack  of  discrimination  which  appeared  in 
the  distribution  of  the  honors  of  saintship  gave  occasion 
to  the  introduction  of  a  more  regular  mode  of  canoniza- 
tion. At  first  the  voice  of  the  people,  or  the  authority 
of  bishops  or  national  councils,  enrolled  the  candidate 
among  the  saints.  Not  till  the  tenth  century  did  the 
Popes  begin  to  bring  the  matter  under  their  jurisdiction. 
"  The  first  instance,"  says  Lingard,  "  of  a  solemn  canon- 
ization occurs  in  the  year  993,  when  John  XV.,  after  a 
diligent  inquiry  into  the  life  and  virtues  of  Ulric,  Bishop 
of  Augsburg,  enrolled  him  among  the  saints.  It  was 
not,  however,  till  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century 
that  the  privilege  of  canonization  was  reserved  to  the 
Roman  see  by  Alexander  III.  From  that  period  to 
the  accession  of  Clement  XIII. ,  in  1758,  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  persons  had  been  solemnly  canonized."  ^ 

While  a  larger  share  of  honors  was  awarded  to  some 
saints  than  to  others,  provision  was  made  in  the  festival 
of  All  Saints  that  none  should  be  neglected.  This 
festival  was  introduced  into  the  West  by  Boniface  IV. 
(608-615)  on  the  occasion  of  the  transformation  of  the 

1  Hardwicke,  Christian  Church  in  the  Middle  Age. 
^  Vol.  ii.  chap.  x. 


WORSHIP  AND  LIFE.  137 

Piintlieon  into  a  Christian  church.  "  Baronius  tells  us 
that  at  the  time  of  dedication,  on  May  13,  the  bones  of 
martyrs  from  the  various  cemeteries  were  in  solemn 
procession  transferred  to  the  church  in  twenty-eight 
carriages.  From  Rome  the  festival  spread  during  the 
ninth  century  over  the  West,  and  Gregory  IV.  induced 
Louis  the  Pious  in  835  to  make  it  general  in  the  Empire. 
The  celebration  was  fixed  on  the  1st  of  November  for 
the  convenience  of  the  people,  who  after  harvest  had  a 
time  of  leisure,  and  were  disposed  to  give  thanks  to  God 
for  all  his  mercies."  ^ 

As  previously  indicated,  among  the  very  few  who  had 
the  boldness  in  this  period  to  speak  against  saint-wor- 
ship, a  foremost  place  belongs  to  Agobard  of  Lyons  and 
Claudius  of  Turin.  Both  were  opposed  to  all  forms  of 
creature  worship,  and  to  all  trust  in  externals.  Clau- 
dius went  so  far  as  even  to  reprobate  the  veneration  of 
the  cross  symbol. 

6.  Pilgrimages. —  The  preference  of  the  age  for  phys- 
ical expedients  in  atoning  for  sins  and  manifesting  devo- 
tion gave  continued  support  to  the  custom  of  making 
pilgrimages.  In  the  early  part  of  the  period,  Rome 
was  the  favored  resort  in  the  West.  About  the  year 
1030  the  stream  began  to  flow  toward  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre.2     The  practice  did  not  escape  criticism ;   but   it 

1  Schaff,  Church  Hist.,  vol.  iv.  §  99. 

2  A  contemporary  historian  thus  describes  the  movement:  "A  multi- 
tude, such  as  no  one  could  have  anticipated,  began  to  flow  from  all  quar- 
ters toward  the  Saviour's  tomb  :  first  the  lower  class  of  people ;  then 
those  of  middle  rank  ;  afterwards  a  number  of  the  foremost  kings  and 
counts.  Finally,  what  had  never  happened  before,  many  noble  women, 
together  witli  those  of  the  poorer  class,  proceeded  thither.  Some  cher- 
ished the  desire  that  they  might  die  before  returning  to  their  homes.'* 
(Rudulfus  Glaber,  Hist.  Sui  Temporis,  iv.  6.) 


138  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

was  too  agreeable  to  popular  thought  and  feeling  to  be 
held  in  check,  notwithstanding  the  glaring  evils  to 
which  it  gave  occasion.  "  Even  when  pilgrimages  were 
most  fashionable,"  writes  Lingard,  ''  there  were  many 
who,  though  they  dared  not  condemn  a  devotion  con- 
secrated by  the  practice  of  ages,  justly  contended  that 
their  countrymen  carried  it  to  excess.  They  complained 
that  by  the  absence  of  bishops  the  interests  of  tlie 
Church  were  abandoned  ;  by  that  of  princes,  the  tran- 
quillity of  the  State  was  endangered ;  that  journeys  of 
devotion  were  undertaken  to  elude  the  penitential  can- 
ons ;  and  that  the  morality  of  the  travellers  was  often 
impaired,  instead  of  being  improved.  This  last  charge 
is  forcibly  corroborated  by  the  conduct  of  several  among 
the  female  pilgrims.  Their  beauty  proved  fatal  to  their 
chastity ;  amid  strangers,  without  a  friend,  perhaps 
without  the  means  of  subsistence,  they  sometimes  fell 
victims  to  the  arts  of  seduction  ;  and  the  apostle  of 
Germany  confesses,  in  the  anguish  of  his  zeal,  that  there 
were  few  cities  in  Lombardy  or  Gaul  which  had  not 
witnessed  the  shame  of  some  of  his  itinerant  country- 
women. But  his  remonstrances  were  not  more  success- 
ful than  those  of  St.  Jerome  and  St.  Gregory  had  been 
in  preceding  ages."  ^  As  another  testimony  from  the 
times  to  the  evils  of  the  custom,  we  may  quote  the 
complaint  of  the  Synod  of  Soissons,  in  813,  that  many 
priests  and  laymen  entered  upon  pilgrimages  to  Tours 
and  Rome  from  superstitious  and  impure  motives.^ 

7.  Flagellations.  —  A  physical  expedient  less  com- 
monly practised,  but  having  its  enthusiastic  devotees, 
was  that  of  voluntary  scourgings.     According   to  the 

1  Vol.  ii.  chap.  x.  2  Hefele,  §  414. 


WORSHIP   AND  LIFE.  139 

representations  of  Peter  Damiani,  who  commended  this 
mode  of  self-torture  with  all  the  power  of  his  impas- 
sioned rhetoric,  the  scourge  would  appear  to  have  been 
laid  upon  the  bare  flesh  ;  for  he  takes  special  pains  to 
teach  that  the  contemplation  of  Christ  despoiled  of  his 
vesture,  and  suspended  upon  the  cross  in  the  sight  of 
men,  should  overcome  the  feeling  of  shame  for  naked- 
ness, as  well  as  inspire  to  a  cheerful  endurance  of  pain.^ 
In  thus  executing  the  penalty  of  sin  against  himself, 
the  penitent,  says  Damiani,  announces  to  the  Supreme 
Judge  that  there  is  no  longer  any  occasion  for  Him  to 
enter  into  strict  judgment  against  His  servant. 

8.  Monasticism.  —  The  age  which  extolled  the  virtue 
of  the  scourge  cherished  of  course  a  high  appreciation 
for  the  monastic  system  in  general.  And,  indeed,  the 
system  was  not  without  very  conspicuous  grounds  for 
a  favorable  estimate.  Who  equalled  the  monks  as  con- 
servators of  learning  ?  Who  rivalled  them  in  mission- 
ary zeal,  in  heroic  self-sacrifice  throughout  the  great 
enterprise  of  converting  the  barbarian  tribes  ?  By  no 
part  of  her  membership  was  the  Church  more  effectually 
served,  in  the  era  of  transition,  than  by  this  class.  But 
offsetting  facts  must  not  be  overlooked.  The  monas- 
teries in  many  cases  suffered  fearful  demoralization. 
We  have  the  testimony  of  a  council,  that  of  Aachen  in 
836,  that  some  of  the  cloisters  of  the  women  had  been 
transformed  wellnigh  into  brothels.^  Worldly-minded 
abbots,  put  into  office  by  secular  patronage,  naturally 
had  little  care  to  enforce  a  discipline  upon  others  which 
they  had  no  disposition  to  accept  for  themselves.     So, 

1  Opuscula,  xliii.,  De  Laude  Flagellorum. 

2  Hefele,  §  435. 


140  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

in  place  of  being  a  severe  training-school,  the  monastery 
became  often  the  abode  of  ease  and  luxury.  The  ideal, 
nevertheless,  was  not  lost  sight  of;  and  now  and  then 
the  voice  of  a  reformer,  like  Benedict  of  Aniane  and 
Dunstan,  called  the  monks  back  to  the  strictness  of  the 
Benedictine  rule.  The  cloister  of  Cluny,  founded  in 
910,  became  a  special  centre  of  the  reform  in  monas- 
ticism.  Numerous  affiliated  cloisters  arose.  As  these 
were  all  under  the  rule  of  the  chief  abbot,  they  present 
an  example  of  the  compact  organization  which  appears 
in  the  great  orders  of  later  times. 

Some  beautiful  characters  were  nurtured  under  the 
monastic  regime.  Where  in  the  annals  of  the  time  can 
be  found  a  more  engaging  figure  than  the  head  of  the 
monastic  school  at  Yarrow,  —  Beda,  or  the  Venerable 
Bede,  as  he  is  usually  called?  What  Alfred  was  in  the 
early  history  of  English  kingship,  that  was  Beda  in  the 
history  of  English  monasticism.  Gentleness,  practical 
sagacity,  unwearied  industr}^  and  warm  devotion  were 
traits  which  have  left  an  indelible  impress  upon  his  life 
work.  His  energies  were  mainly  given  to  the  tasks  of 
the  scholar.  In  this  field,  if  he  was  not  distinguished 
by  the  highest  critical  acumen,  he  was  painstaking,  and 
sincerely  desirous  to  subserve  the  interests  of  the  exact 
truth.  Forty-five  works,  covering  the  whole  domain  of 
theological  and  scientific  knowledge  which  at  that  time 
was  accessible  to  the  West,  attest  his  scholarly  dili- 
gence. Among  these,  posterity  has  prized  most  of  all 
his  invaluable  history  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church.  As 
to  the  spirit  of  religious  devotion  with  which  he  plied  his 
pen,  we  have  an  apt  index  in  this  prayer  uttered  at  the 
close  of  his  literary  labors :  "  O  good  Jesus,  who  hast 


WORSHIP  AND  LIFE.  141 

deigned  to  refresh  my  soul  with  the  sweet  streams  of 
knowledge,  grant  that  one  day  I  may  mount  to  Thee, 
who  art  the  source  of  all  wisdom,  and  remain  forever 
in  thy  divine  presence."  A  still  more  touching  index,  if 
possible,  of  the  mingled  piety  and  scholarship  of  Beda, 
is  seen  in  the  account  of  his  closing  hours.  As  he  felt 
the  end  approaching,  he  was  much  concerned  to  finish 
his  translation  of  the  Gospel  of  John.  Being  told  on 
the  day  of  his  death  that  one  chapter  still  remained  to 
be  written,  he  said  to  his  scribe,  '^  Take  thy  pen,  and 
write  quickly."  Again  at  eventide  he  repeated  tlie 
command,  as  the  scribe  informed  him  that  one  sentence 
yet  remained  to  be  recorded.  Then,  the  welcome  an- 
nouncement being  made  that  all  was  finished,  he  replied, 
'*  You  speak  truth  ;  all  is  finished  now."  Placed  by 
his  request  upon  the  floor  of  his  cell,  and  supported  in 
his  scholar's  arms,  he  breathed  out  his  soul  in  the  chant, 
"  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

Monasticism  seems  to  have  found  a  congenial  soil  in 
tlie  territory  of  the  Anglo-Saxons.  Among  the  inmates 
of  the  cloister  were  many  who  had  known  the  associa- 
tions of  royal  or  aristocratic  life.  A  peculiar  feature 
was  the  prominence  attained  at  one  time  by  the  heads  of 
cloisters  for  women.  "  The  abbesses,"  says  Montalem- 
bert,  '*  as  we  have  seen  by  the  example  of  Hilda,  Ebba, 
and  Elfleda,  had  soon  an  influence  and  authority  which 
rivalled  that  of  the  most  venerated  bishops  and  abbots. 
They  had  often  the  retinue  and  state  of  princesses,  espe- 
cially when  they  came  of  royal  blood.  They  treated 
with  kings,  bishops,  and  the  greatest  lords,  on  terms  of 
perfect  equality ;  and  as  the  rule  of  the  cloister  does 


142  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

not  seem  to  have  existed  for  them,  they  are  to  be  seen 
going  where  they  please,  present  at  all  great  religious 
and  national  solemnities,  at  the  dedication  of  churches, 
and  even,  like  the  queens,  taking  part  in  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  national  assemblies,  and  affixing  their 
signatures  to  the  charters  therein  granted."  ^  The 
wide-reaching  influence  of  Hilda,  who  died  in  680,  as 
abbess  of  the  monastery  of  Streaneshalch,  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  Beda :  "  Her  prudence  was  so  great,  that  not 
only  indifferent  persons,  but  even  kings  and  princes,  as 
occasion  offered,  asked  and  received  her  advice.  She 
obliged  those  who  were  under  her  direction  to  attend  so 
much  to  the  reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  to  ex- 
ercise themselves  so  much  in  works  of  justice,  that  many 
might  be  there  found  fit  for  ecclesiastical  duties,  and  to 
serve  at  the  altar."  ^  As  the  language  of  Beda  indicates, 
Hilda  had  supervision  over  monks,  as  well  as  over  nuns. 
Lingard  remarks,  that  it  was  not  unusual  among  the 
northern  nations  for  a  society  of  religious  men  to  be 
placed  under  the  government  of  a  woman.^ 

Distinguished  representatives  of  the  monastic  life  upon 
the  Continent  might  be  considered,  if  our  space  per- 
mitted. In  the  tenth  century  and  the  early  part  of  the 
eleventh,  great  admiration  was  commanded  by  Nilus 
and  Romuald  in  Italy,  — men  who,  like  Anthony,  united 
with  their  austerities  much  of  practical  sagacity  and 
spiritual  wisdom. 

9.  Ordeals,  —  The  mediaeval  readiness  to  believe  in 
supernatural  interventions  on  all  occasions  supplied  a 
congenial  soil  for  the  barbaric  custom  of  deciding  by 

1  Monks  of  the  West,  vol.  v.  book  xv.  2  jy.  23. 

^  Hist,  and  Antiq.,  chap.  v. 


WORSHIP  AND  LIFE.  143 

ordeals.  One  form  of  this  test  was  the  duel,  or  judicial 
combat.  This  claimed  a  legal  recognition  in  the  Bur- 
gundian  code,  but  was  rigorously  condemned  by  the 
Council  of  Valence  in  855.  The  duel  was  unknown  in 
England  till  after  the  Norman  Conquest.  There  was 
also  an  ordeal  by  cold  water.  In  this  the  accused  was 
lowered  by  a  cord  into  a  pool.  If  he  was  able  to  sink 
so  as  to  draw  a  knot  at  a  certain  distance  from  the  end 
beneath  the  surface,  he  was  regarded  as  innocent.  The 
theory  was  that  the  pure  element  would  accept  the  inno- 
cent and  reject  the  guilty.^  In  the  ordeal  by  hot  water 
the  accused,  or  his  champion,  plunged  his  naked  arm 
into  a  boiling  caldron,  and  drew  out  a  stone  which  had 
been  placed  therein.  The  arm  was  then  wrapped  in  a 
cloth.  If  it  appeared  healed  at  the  end  of  three  days, 
the  accused  was  pronounced  guiltless.  In  the  ordeal 
by  hot  iron,  the  prisoner  was  expected  to  take  the  heated 
metal,  and  to  walk  three  steps  before  throwing  it  down. 
The  hand  was  then  treated  as  in  the  trial  by  hot  water. 
In  a  less  usual  form  of  this  test  the  accused  was  required 
to  walk  upon  or  among  burning  ploughshares.  In  the 
ordeal  of  the  eucharist,  the  Divine  judgment  was  in- 
voked before  the  consecrated  bread  was  partaken,  and 
it  was  expected  that  a  punishment  from  heaven  would 
fall  upon  the  guilty  party .^ 

The  use  of  ordeals  was  favored  by  the  legislation  of 
Charlemagne.  The  attitude  of  the  Church  toward 
them  was   not  uniform.      They  were   opposed  in  one 

^  So  argued  a  man  as  eminent  as  Hincmar  of  Rheinis,  De  Divortio 
Lothar.  et  Tetberg.,  Responsio  ad  Interrogat.  vi. 

2  See  the  ample  discussion  by  Henry  C.  Lea,  in  "  Superstition  and 
Force." 


144  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

form  or  another  by  various  councils.  Agobard  of 
Lyons  denounced  them  in  toto,  as  a  product  of  super- 
stitiou.i  Several  of  the  Popes  also,  as  Nicolas  I.,  Ste- 
phen VI.,  and  Alexander  II.,  were  opposed  to  them. 
Alexander  III.  (1159-1181)  uttered  against  them  a  dis- 
tinct prohibition.  But  the  custom  was  too  deeply  rooted 
to  be  easily  extirpated. 

10.  The  Ti'uee  of  God.  —  Like  the  ordeal,  this  testi- 
fies to  the  power  of  inherited  customs.  It  shows  a 
consciousness  of  the  evils  of  private  warfare  which  the 
barbarian  doctrine  of  revenge  had  sanctioned,  and  to 
which  the  feudal  system  gave  ample  scope  ;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  it  shows  a  feeling  of  the  impossibilit}^  of 
any  total  abolition  of  the  practice.  An  endeavor  was, 
therefore,  made  to  limit  what  could  not  be  entirely  pro- 
hibited. B}^  the  Truce  of  God,  it  was  ordained  that  dur- 
ing four  days  of  each  week,  namely,  from  Wednesday 
evening  to  Monda}^  morning,  forcible  attempts  to  settle 
quarrels  must  be  suspended.  The  regulation  had  its 
rise  in  France,  about  the  year  1033.^  Attempts  were 
made  to   put  it  in  force  in  other  quarters ;    and   the 

1  Liber  adv.  Legem  Gundobadi ;  Liber  de  Divinis  Sententiis.  Ago- 
bnrd  is  especially  pronounced  in  his  strictures  upon  the  judicial  combat. 
"  If  in  this  life,"  he  says,  "  the  innocent  were  always  victors,  and  the 
guilty  were  overcome,  Pharaoh  would  not  have  slain  Josiah,  but 
Josiah  Pharaoh ;  Herod  would  not  have  killed  John,  but  John  Herod. 
These  things  we  say,  not  as  denying  that  the  providence  of  God  some- 
times secures  the  acquittal  of  the  innocent  and  the  condemnation  of  the 
guilty ;  but  because  it  has  never  been  decreed  by  God  tliat  this  should 
take  place  in  all  cases  prior  to  the  last  judgment."  (Adv.  Leg, 
Gund.,  §  9.) 

2  A  graphic  account  of  the  circumstances  leading  to  its  introduction 
is  given  by  Rudulfus  Glaber,  Hist.  Sui  Temporis,  iv.  4,  5. 


WORSHIP  AND  LIFE.  145 

season  of  truce  was  finally  extended  so  as  to  cover, 
not  only  a  section  of  each  week,  but  certain  sacred 
periods  of  the  year ;  namely,  from  the  first  of  Advent 
to  Epiphany,  the  whole  of  Lent  together  with  Eas- 
ter, and  from  Ascension  to  the  close  of  the  week  of 
Pentecost. 


10 


SECOND  PERIOD. 

1073-1294. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  mediaeval  stage  of  Christian  history  came  to  its 
climax  between  Gregory  VII.  and  Boniface  VIII. 
The  pontificate  of  the  former  urged  toward  this  result 
with  powerful  agency.  As  we  pass  from  the  pontificate 
of  the  latter,  we  are  still,  it  is  true,  within  the  mediaeval 
horizon.  But  the  prophecy  of  a  new  order  of  things 
meets  our  gaze.  The  horizon  begins  to  be  tinged  with 
the  dawning  of  that  great  revolution  which  two  centu- 
ries later  was  to  accomplish  the  transition  to  the  modern 
world. 

The  period,  therefore,  appears  remarkably  well  de- 
fined. A  number  of  great  and  relatively  complete  de- 
velopments meet  our  attention.  We  see  the  causes 
which  for  centuries  had  been  working  toward  papal 
supremacy  at  length  bearing  their  perfect  fruit.  A 
theocracy  is  set  over  the  nations.  The  most  far-reach- 
ing sovereignty  ever  known  in  Europe  rules  from  the 
chair  of  Peter.  Medisevalism  culminates  on  its  hie- 
rarchical side.  No  less  also  it  culminates  on  its  intel- 
lectual side.  Learning  and  logic  show  what  they  can 
do  from  a  preconceived  standpoint.  As  the  servants 
of  the  Church,  as  the  handmaids  of  the  hierarchy,  they 


150  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

elaborate  the  gigantic  system  known  as  Scholasticism. 
Still  further,  medisevalism  culminates  on  the  side  of 
monastic  eccentricity  and  enthusiasm.  Great  apostles 
of  poverty,  of  beggary,  make  their  appearance,  and 
orders  of  mendicants  take  their  place  as  favored  sons 
of  the  Church,  and  carry  their  influence  into  every 
corner  of  Latin  Christendom.  Once  more,  mediseval- 
ism  culminates  on  the  side  of  romantic  feeling  and 
enterprise.  The  fire  of  devotion  and  the  love  of  ad- 
venture find  equal  satisfaction  in  the  Crusades.  All 
those  great  movements  for  the  recovery  of  the  Holy 
Land,  which  so  enlisted  the  heart  and  commanded  the 
resources  of  Europe,  fell  within  the  present  period. 

The  preceding  paragraph  will  serve  to  indicate  our 
principal  topics.  With  respect  to  Scholasticism,  how- 
ever, it  should  be  noticed  that  its  consideration  belongs 
more  especially  to  the  History  of  Doctrine.  We  can 
award  it  only  a  passing  glance  as  a  feature  in  the  civil- 
ization of  the  times.  Among  subsidiary  themes  a  place 
is  properly  given  to  a  view  of  the  chief  political  de- 
velopments of  the  era. 


CHAPTER  I. 

POLITICAL  STATUS  OF  THE  PEINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  OF  EUROPE. 


I 


N  a  brief  glance  at  the  political  condition  of  Italy  we 
shall  find  it  of  advantage  to  divide  the  country  into 
three  different  sections,  the  Northern,  the  Central,  and 
the  Southern.     In  the  Northern  or  Lombard  region  an 
important  development  was  in  progress  at  the  opening 
of  the  period.     Everywhere  the  cities  were  successfully 
contending  for  their  liberties,  and  gaining  for  them- 
selves a  republican  type  of  government.     "  Before  the 
death  of  Henry  V.,  in  1125,  almost  all  the  cities  of 
Lombardy,  and  many  of  those  of  Tuscany,  were  accus- 
tomed to  elect  their  own  magistrates,  and  to  act  as  in- 
dependent communities  in  waging  war  and  in  domestic 
government."!     But  this  republican   constitution  was 
not  of  long  continuance.     Before  the  end  of  the  thir- 
teenth century  the  sovereignty  in  many  of  the  Lombard 
republics  had  been  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  some 
leading  citizen,  and  by  the  middle  of  the  next  century 
scarcely   a   trace   of  self-government  remained.      The 
flourishing  condition  of  these  cities  would  have  made 
them  a  formidable  power,  had  they  been  disposed  to 
act  the  part  of  faithful  allies  and  confederates.     But 
this  was  prevented  by  their  mutual  jealousies  and  rival- 
1  Hallam,  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages. 


152  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

ries.  So  the  German  Emperors  kept  up  the  claim  to 
sovereignty  over  this  region  which  had  been  asserted 
by  Otho  the  Great,  and  found  a  general  acquiescence 
in  their  pretensions.  Not  till  Frederic  Barbarossa  had 
shown  a  disposition  to  destroy  their  liberties  were  the 
cities  driven  to  concerted  action.  The  issue  showed 
their  strength  when  united  in  a  common  cause.  The 
defeated  Emperor  was  constrained  to  accept  a  truce  in 
1177,  and  six  years  later,  at  the  peace  of  Constance, 
he  guaranteed  to  the  cities  the  full  measure  of  self- 
government  which  they  had  previously  claimed  for 
themselves.  In  the  next  century  three  of  the  Italian 
republics,  Pisa,  Genoa,  and  Venice,  began  to  win  a 
high  distinction  for  naval  enterprise  and  commercial 
prosperity. 

The  struggle  between  the  Empire  and  the  Papacy 
naturally  wrought  divisions  within  the  Lombard  com- 
munities. Choice  between  the  cause  of  the  Popes  and 
that  of  the  Emperors  gave  rise  to  the  celebrated  party 
names  of  Guelfs  and  Ghibellines.  These  names  were 
imported  from  Germany,  where  the  rivalry  of  the  Bava- 
rian and  the  Swabian  houses  (the  former  of  which  was 
an  ally  of  the  Saxon  house)  had  given  them  an  associa- 
tion with  zealous  partisanship.  The  Guelfs  favored 
the  Popes,  and  the  Ghibellines  the  Emperors.  But 
while  this  general  antagonism  lay  back  of  the  names, 
they  seem  often  to  have  been  used  merely  to  give 
direction  to  an  aimless  and  senseless  love  of  faction. 

In  Rome  and  Central  Italy  the  Popes  claimed  the 
sovereignty  in  virtue  of  the  donations  of  Pepin  and 
Charlemagne,  not  to  mention  the  appeal  often  made 
to  the  fictitious  bestowments  of  the  first  Christian  Em- 


POLITICAL   STATUS   OF  EUROPE.  153 

peror.  But  it  was  frequently  a  poor  shadow  of  sover- 
eignty that  they  were  able  to  command.  Popes  who 
were  powerful  enough  to  uncrown  distant  rulers  were 
unable  to  exercise  a  temporal  sway  over  territory  that 
lay  under  their  feet.  On  the  one  hand,  the  Emperors 
stood  in  the  way  of  their  rule.  Up  to  the  time  of  In- 
nocent III.,  the  Prefect  of  Rome  swore  allegiance  to 
the  Emperor  rather  than  to  the  Pope,  and  it  was  not 
till  1278  that  the  claim  to  supremacy  over  the  domin- 
ions of  the  Holy  See  was  formally  renounced  by  the 
German  Emperor.  On  the  other  hand,  a  reluctant  peo- 
ple made  it  impossible  for  the  Popes  to  exercise  any 
settled  control  over  civil  affairs  in  their  neighborhood. 
Rome  was  subject  to  much  the  same  fluctuations  as 
other  Italian  cities.  Among  the  more  distinguished 
episodes  of  her  local  government  was  the  inauguration 
in  the  twelfth  century  of  a  republican  regime,  after  the 
pattern  of  that  bold  agitator,  Arnold  of  Brescia. 

The  political  complexion  of  Southern  Italy  in  this 
era  was,  if  possible,  still  more  variegated  than  that  of 
the  other  sections.  At  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh 
century  the  larger  part  of  the  southern  proviHoes  was 
governed  by  the  lieutenant  of  the  Greek  Empire.  The 
republics  of  Naples,  Gaeta,  and  Amalfi  acknowledged 
the  nominal  sovereignty  of  that  empire.  There  were, 
besides,  the  Lombard  principalities  of  Benevento,  Sa- 
lerno, and  Capua.  Internal  disorders  were  frequent, 
and  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country  was  aggravated 
by  the  spoliations  of  the  Saracens  who  held  Sicily. 
But  in  the  course  of  the  century  the  map  of  the  region 
was  destined  to  be  radically  changed.  The  chief  agents 
of  the   revolution    were    introduced    by   a   seemingly 


154  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

chance  incident.  In  the  early  part  of  the  eleventh 
century  a  band  of  Saracens  landed  under  the  walls  of 
Salerno.  The  Prince  of  Salerno,  intimidated  by  their 
threats,  was  about  to  yield  to  their  demand  for  a  con- 
tribution, when  a  company  of  about  forty  pilgrims 
asked  the  privilege  of  chastising  the  marauders.  Sally- 
ing bravely  forth,  they  drove  them  from  the  vicinity. 
These  chivalrous  pilgrims  were  Normans.  The  grate- 
ful prince  loaded  them  with  presents,  and  the  glowing 
accounts  which  they  gave  to  their  countrymen,  as  they 
returned  to  Normandy,  incited  many  of  them  to  visit 
the  field  of  their  adventure.  Here  they  found  service 
under  the  patronage  of  various  parties.  A  considerable 
company  of  them  were  employed  by  the  Greek  Em- 
peror against  the  Saracens.  Being  poorly  requited,  as 
they  deemed,  for  their  brilliant  achievements  in  this 
war,  they  turned  their  arms  against  the  Greek  domin- 
ion in  Southern  Italy.  The  Pope,  Leo  IX.,  attempted 
to  check  their  success,  but  was  himself  defeated  and 
made  prisoner,  and  concluded  in  the  end  to  be  rather 
the  ally  than  the  opponent  of  their  enterprise.  By 
1057  Norman  rule  had  taken  the  place  of  Greek.  The 
conquest  of  Sicily  followed,  as  also  of  the  republics  of 
Southern  Italy.  Roger  IL,  who  became  ruler  over  this 
entire  domain,  was  acknowledged  by  the  Papacy,  and 
received  from  Innocent  II.  the  designation  of  King  of 
Sicily.  By  the  marriage  of  his  daughter  to  Henry  VI. 
the  title  of  the  kingdom  passed  into  the  Hohenstaufen 
family.  Conradin,  the  last  heir  of  this  family,  was  put 
to  death  in  1268  by  Charles  of  Anjou,  who  sought 
thus  a  secure  possession  of  the  throne  which  he  had 
usurped.      Favored   by  the  Papacy,  Charles  gained  a 


POLITICAL  STATUS   OF  EUROPE.  155 

wide  influence  in  Italy.  But  his  tyranny  was  at  length 
rewarded  with  a  great  reverse.  The  oppressed  Sicil- 
ians entered  into  a  conspiracy  and  cut  off  the  French 
in  their  midst  in  the  massacre  of  the  Sicilian  Vespers 
(1282).  Improving  the  opportunity  which  this  act  of 
bloody  vengeance  had  supplied,  Peter  of  Aragon  took 
possession  of  the  island. 

II.  Charlemagne's  brilliant  project  of  a  restored  Ro- 
man Empire  was  not  forgotten.  As  we  have  seen,  the 
first  Otho  revived  the  project,  and  pursued  it  with 
energy.  Likewise  the  more  ambitious  and  enterprising 
of  his  successors  in  Germany  kept  the  same  ideal  in 
mind.  But  enormous  difiiculties  stood  in  the  way  of 
its  realization.  The  Papacy  was  not  content  to  hold 
the  co-ordinate,  or  rather  subordinate,  position  which 
it  occupied  during  the  personal  rule  of  Charlemagne. 
It  strove  with  exhaustless  ambition  and  diligence  after 
supremacy.  It  refused  to  be  the  mere  ally  of  the  Em- 
pire, and  used  every  spiritual  and  political  expedient  to 
keep  the  Emperor's  power  within  bounds  agreeable  to 
its  own  safety  and  superiority.  There  were  also  great 
hindrances  to  the  imperial  sovereignty  from  within. 
The  rivalry  of  princely  houses,  and  the  jealousies  and 
ambitions  of  individual  princes,  furnished  abundant  fuel 
for  rebellion.  The  strength  and  the  resources  of  the 
Emperor  were  often  severely  taxed  in  quelling  intestine 
disorders. 

In  theory  the  imperial  dignity  was  elective,  though 
it  was  natural  that  a  powerful  ruler  should  be  able  to 
direct  the  choice  to  a  member  of  his  own  family.  The 
composition  of  the  electoral  college  is  not  very  exactly 
determined.     The  tendency  seems  to  have  been  toward 


156  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

a  limitation  of  suffrage.  The  scheme  of  seven  electors, 
so  long  in  vogue  in  later  times,  was  first  made  a  fixed 
part  of  the  constitution  by  the  Golden  Bull  of  Charles  IV. 
in  1355. 

Toward  the  latter  part  of  the  period,  a  political  fac- 
tor which  was  asserting  itself  in  other  parts  of  Europe 
also  came  to  prominence  in  Germany.  A  large  number 
of  the  cities  gained  release  from  inferior  jurisdiction, 
came  into  direct  relation  to  the  Empire,  elected  their 
own  magistrates,  and  began  to  claim  a  place  for  their 
deputies  in  the  diets.  The  better  to  conserve  their 
privileges  against  the  aggressions  of  the  nobles  and  the 
bishops,  the  cities  entered  into  leagues  with  one  another. 
The  need  of  protection  against  local  usurpation  natu- 
rally inclined  them  to  a  friendly  attitude  toward  the 
Emperors. 

For  the  major  part  of  the  period  the  imperial  oflBce 
was  held  by  men  of  vigorous  personality.  This  was 
conspicuously  the  case  with  the  Hohenstaufen  line. 
As  previously  mentioned,  the  Franconian  line  of  Em- 
perors ended  with  Henr}^  V.,  in  1125.  Lothaire  III. 
followed  as  a  single  representative  of  the  Saxon  house. 
On  his  death,  in  1138,  the  Swabian  or  Hohenstaufen 
succession  commenced,  the  representatives  of  which 
were  Conrad  III.,  Frederic  I.,  called  Barbarossa  or  Red 
Beard,  Henry  VI.,  and  Frederic  II.  After  the  death 
of  Frederic  II.  in  1250,.  the  imperial  power  was  at 
such  a  low  ebb  that  the  ensuing  twenty- two  years  have 
been  styled  an  interregnum.  Rudolf  of  Hapsburg,  who 
received  the  imperial  dignity  in  1272,  ruled  with  credit- 
able vigor  and  discretion.  The  Empire,  however,  failed 
to  gain  its  former  footing,  and  continued  to  bear  the 


POLITICAL  STATUS   OF  EUROPE.  157 

tokens  of  the  defeat  which  had  been  incurred  in  the 
war  with  the  Papacy. 

III.  The  dynasty  founded  by  Hugh  Capet  in  987 
continued  through  the  whole  of  the  period.  Not  till 
1328  did  a  new  house,  that  of  Valois,  succeed  the  long 
line  of  the  Capetians.  Hugh  Capet,  however,  and  a 
number  of  his  successors,  can  hardly  be  called  sover- 
eigns of  France.  The  royal  domain  was  of  limited  ex- 
tent, and  the  powerful  vassals  who  possessed  the  greater 
part  of  the  territory  held  wellnigh  the  position  of  in- 
dependent rulers.  But  in  the  course  of  the  period  a 
radical  change  was  effected  in  the  distribution  of  sover- 
eignty. The  growth  of  the  communes  or  municipali- 
ties, with  their  chartered  liberties,  presented  a  counter- 
poise to  the  feudal  nobility.  The  Crusades  also  were 
a  greater  drain  upon  the  nobility  than  upon  the  lower 
class  of  people.  The  study  of  the  civil  law  began  in 
the  thirteenth  century  to  assume  a  prominent  place, 
and  this  study  was  favorable  to  centralized  authority. 
As  a  result  of  these  developments,  increased  power  and 
prerogatives  came  to  the  crown.  Under  Louis  VI. 
(1108-1137)  the  claims  of  royalty  began  to  be  asserted 
with  aggressive  energy.  A  check,  it  is  true,  was 
suffered  under  his  feeble  and  unfortunate  successor, 
Louis  VII.,  during  the  latter  part  of  whose  reign  the 
rule  of  the  English  King  covered  quite  as  much  of  the 
soil  of  France  as  did  his  own.  But  the  active  and 
politic  Philip  Augustus  (1180-1223)  turned  the  tide, 
and  secured  a  large  increase  of  prestige  and  governing 
power,  as  well  as  of  territory,  to  the  French  crown. 
The  rule  of  Louis  IX.  (1226-1270)  was,  on  the  whole, 
favorable  to  the  royal  supremacy,  and  Philip  the  Fair 


158  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH, 

(1285-1314),  who  closes  the  period,  carried  the  vigor- 
ous and  successful  assertion  of  his  will  quite  up  to  the 
verge  of  despotism. 

With  both  Philip  Augustus  and  Philip  the  Fair  a 
policy  of  encroachment  in  the  interests  of  royalty  was 
a  thing  of  set  purpose.  Louis  IX.,  on  the  other  hand, 
while  disposed  to  make  a  manful  assertion  of  the  pre- 
rogatives of  the  throne,  was  as  careful  of  others'  rights 
as  of  his  own.  He  ruled  as  he  understood  that  the 
good  of  the  people  and  the  principles  of  Christianity 
required.  The  annals  of  royalty  present  no  instance 
of  a  more  complete  enthronement  of  conscience.  What 
Marcus  Aurelius  was  in  the  history  of  Roman  imperial- 
ism, that  was  Louis  IX.  in  the  history  of  French  king- 
ship. He  appears  as  an  illustrious  example  of  a  ruler 
who  in  no  wise  sacrificed  the  requirements  of  manhood 
to  the  privileges  of  sovereignty.  "  If  he  had  been 
poor,  obscure,  a  priest,  a  monk,  he  could  not  have  been 
more  constantly  and  passionately  preoccupied  to  live 
as  Christ's  faithful  servant,  and  to  insure  by  pious 
obedience  upon  earth  his  eternal  salvation  hereafter."  ^ 
His  domestic  life  was  of  unblemished  purity.  He 
entered  into  sympathetic  relations  with  his  people,  and 
gave  a  ready  ear  to  the  requests  of  the  poorest.  He 
sought  to  compose  the  disputes  of  his  vassals  and  to 
settle  the  quarrels  of  sovereigns,  ranking  the  blessings 
of  peace  far  above  any  opportunities  of  personal  ad- 
vantage which  might  accrue  from  the  contentions  of 
others.  Great  errors  may  indeed  be  charged  against 
him.  His  crusading  mania,  at  a  time  when  the  heart 
of  Europe  was  no  longer  genuinely  enlisted  in  the 
^  Guizot,  St.  Louis  and  Calvin. 


POLITICAL   STATUS   OF  EUROPE.  159 

enterprise  of  recovering  the  Holy  Land,  indicates  that 
he  was  not  beyond  the  reach  of  a  miscalculating  enthu- 
siasm. The  penalties  which  he  affixed  to  heresy,  and 
his  patronage  of  the  Inquisition,  show  that  he  was  as 
far  as  other  leading  representatives  of  the  thirteenth 
century  from  understanding  the  law  of  Christian  toler- 
ance. But  these  were  with  him  errors  of  the  head. 
They  may  demonstrate  that  he  lacked  a  keen  and 
broad  insight  into  his  age,  and  still  more  the  prophetic 
gift  to  transcend  his  age  ',  they  do  not  indicate  that 
he  was  wanting  in  purity  of  intention  or  in  loyalty  to 
duty.  The  mature  verdict  of  history  corresponds  with 
the  impression  of  contemporaries,  and  pronounces  that 
Rome,  relatively  speaking,  was  not  making  a  bad  use 
of  her  assumed  prerogative  of  canonization,  when,  in 
1297,  she  proclaimed  the  saintship  of  Louis  IX. 

IV.  While  the  Norman  Duke  William  was  diligent 
in  parading  the  title  to  the  English  throne,  which,  as 
he  assumed,  had  come  to  him  through  the  promise  of 
his  cousin,  Edward  the  Confessor,  his  real  title  was 
that  of  conquest.  The  rout  of  Harold  and  the  English 
forces  in  the  battle  of  Hastings  (1066)  was  the  actual 
basis  of  his  claim.  William  ruled  too  as  a  conqueror. 
He  made,  it  is  true,  a  certain  show  of  respect  toward 
the  institutions  of  the  country.  He  was  careful  to  give 
a  color  of  law  to  his  proceedings.  "  The  laws  of  Eng- 
land were  not  formally  and  systematically  abolished ; 
the  rights  of  Englishmen  were  not  formally  and  syste- 
matically disregarded."  ^  The  result,  nevertheless,  was 
oppression  and  spoliation.  William  had  to  reward  his 
soldiers.      The   means   of  the  reward   were   naturally 

1  E.  A.  Freeman,  History  of  the  Norman  Conquest. 


160  TUE  MEDLEVAL   CHURCH. 

found  in  the  fruits  of  conquest.  The  lands  of  the 
English  were  transferred  to  the  Norman  soldiers.  The 
confiscation  did  not  occur  all  at  once,  and  was  not  at 
any  time  universal.  But  sooner  or  later  Norman 
strangers  came  into  possession  of  the  larger  part  of 
the  land.  A  people  thus  despoiled  and  made  the  un- 
willing subjects  of  a  heavy  yoke  could  not  of  course 
be  trusted  with  official  responsibilities.  Hence  the 
positions  of  authority  were  given  to  the  conquerors. 
Not  only  were  Englishmen  driven  out  from  the  civil 
dignities ;  they  were  expelled  from  the  ecclesiastical 
as  well.  The  abbot  of  a  cloister  in  Normandy  was 
called  across  the  Channel  to  fill  the  archbishopric  of 
Canterbury.  This  foreign  dignitary,  the  energetic  and 
politic  Lanfranc,  used  his  authority  in  full  harmony 
with  the  policy  of  William.  Vacant  bishoprics  and 
abbeys  were  awarded  to  foreigners,  and  the  transfer 
was  hastened  by  a  diligent  improvement  of  all  plausible 
occasions  of  deprivation.  In  short,  England  came  com- 
pletely under  Norman  dominion.  The  very  thorough- 
ness of  this  possession,  however,  tended  ultimately  not 
only  to  guarantee  the  national  independence  of  Eng- 
land, but  also  to  conserve  to  a  conspicuous  degree  the 
national  traits,  the  heritage  of  the  old  Anglo-Saxon 
civilization.  In  proportion  to  the  firmness  of  their 
tenure,  the  Normans  felt  at  home  in  England.  Their 
interests  became  centred  there.  They  were  ready  at 
all  hazards  to  defend  the  land  against  future  invasions. 
In  a  word,  they  soon  became  Anglicized.  As  the  con- 
quest overcame  divisions  which  previously  existed,  the 
final  result  was  an  English  people  more  united,  more 
truly  national,  than  ever  before. 


POLITICAL   STATUS   OF  EUROPE.  IGl 

Under  the  Conqueror  the  feudal  system  was  inaugu- 
rated in  England.  The  lands  of  the  realm  were  given 
under  feudal  tenure.  But  William  was  careful  to 
modify  the  feudal  regime  in  the  interest  of  the  royal 
supremacy.  One  innovation  which  he  introduced  was 
especially  important.  ''  By  the  leading  principle  of 
feuds,"  says  Hallam,  "  an  oath  of  fealty  was  due  from 
the  vassal  to  the  lord  of  whom  he  immediately  held 
his  land,  and  to  no  other  The  King  of  France,  long 
after  this  period,  had  no  feudal  and  scarcely  an}^  royal 
authority  over  the  tenants  of  his  vassals.  But  William 
received  at  Salisbury,  in  1085,  the  fealty  of  all  land- 
holders in  England,  both  those  who  held  in  chief  and 
their  tenants,  thus  breaking  in  upon  the  feudal  compact 
in  its  most  essential  attribute,  the  exclusive  depend- 
ence of  a  vassal  upon  his  lord.  And  this  may  be  reck- 
oned among  the  several  causes  which  prevented  the 
Continental  notions  of  independence  upon  the  crown 
from  ever  taking  root  among  the  English  aristocracy."  ^ 
Most  of  the  kings  who  followed  William  were  not 
so  competent  as  he  to  maintain  an  arbitrary  author- 
ity. But  the  vantage  ground  which  he  had  sup- 
plied made  itself  manifest,  and  the  royal  prerogative 
was  often  pressed  to  the  border  of  arbitrary  and  tyran- 
nical rule. 

Happily  the  nation  was  not  destitute  of  material 
for  a  reaction  against  royal  oppression.  Under  the 
galling  despotism  of  John,  such  a  united  movement 
was  made  for  constitutional  limitations,  that  the  King 
was  constrained  by  the  apparent  necessity  of  the  case 

1  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages,  chap.  viii. 
11 


162  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

to  affix  his  signature  to  the  Great  Charter  (1215). 
This  instrument  was  of  broad  scope,  and  well  fitted  to 
serve  as  a  corner  stone  of  constitutional  liberty.  The 
privileges  of  the  clergy  were  confirmed.  The  barons 
were  secured  against  certain  special  grievances.  The 
rights  and  immunities  of  the  lower  vassals  were  as- 
serted. The  King  was  restricted  in  the  levying  of  taxes. 
A  safeguard  to  the  person  and  property  of  the  indi- 
vidual was  furnished  in  this  celebrated  provision  :  "  No 
freeman  shall  be  taken  or  imprisoned,  or  be  disseised 
of  his  freehold,  or  liberties,  or  free  customs,  or  be  out- 
lawed, or  exiled,  or  any  otherwise  destroyed ;  nor  will 
we  pass  upon  him,  nor  send  upon  him,  but  by  lawful 
judgment  of  his  peers,  or  by  the  law  of  the  land  ;  we 
will  not  deny  or  delay  to  any  man  justice  or  right." 
Referring  to  this  great  event  in  the  constitutional 
history  of  England,  a  distinguished  French  writer  has 
remarked:  "For  the  first  time  there  appeared  to  the 
Middle  Ages  the  imposing  spectacle  of  a  nation  uniting 
its  different  classes  and  laboring  in  a  body  to  substitute 
the  reign  of  law  for  arbitrary  rule."  ^ 

As  respects  the  ecclesiastical  relations  of  England, 
the  Norman  Conquest  favored  the  scheme  of  centraliza- 
tion which  began  in  that  era  to  be  so  vigorously  cham- 
pioned. The  strong  personality  of  William,  it  is  true, 
stood  in  the  way  of  papal  rule  in  England.  Greg- 
ory VII.  treated  him  with  an  exceptional  deference, 
allowing  him  to  practise  an  interference  in  the  affairs 
of  the  Church  which  he  was  ready  to  punish  with 
the  anathema  in  other  sovereigns.  But  the  Conquest 
brought  into  the  chief  positions  a  clergy  which  had 
1  Martin,  Histoire  de  France,  tome  iv. 


POLITICAL   STATUS   OF  EUROPE.  1G3 

been  trained  under  the  more  direct  influence  of  the 
papal  regime.  The  Pope  was  also  fortunate  in  having 
a  very  effective  ally  in  the  second  of  the  Archbishops 
of  Canterbury  under  the  Norman  rule.  The  fact  that 
it  was  the  saintly  Anselm  who  withstood  the  King's 
prerogative  in  the  ecclesiastical  domain,  and  appealed 
to  the  Pope  as  the  higher  authority,  was  specially 
adapted  to  support  the  claims  of  the  latter.  The  ulti- 
mate result,  therefore,  was  in  the  direction  of  the  papal 
supremacy  over  England. 

V.  The  conquest  of  Spain  by  the  Mohammedans 
had  not  long  been  effected  before  its  reconquest  by  the 
Christians  commenced.  Lapse  into  relative  indolence 
and  luxury  on  the  part  of  the  conquerors,  and  the 
springing  up  of  party  divisions  among  them,  gave  the 
conquered  opportunities  of  successful  attack.  The  Mo- 
hammedans, it  is  true,  manifested  an  aggressive  spirit 
and  power  of  recovery  under  the  able  leadership  of 
Almanzor  at  the  end  of  the  tenth  century ;  but  this 
revival  of  their  fortunes  proved  to  be  only  temporary. 
During  the  eleventh  century  the  victory  was  almost 
always  with  the  Christians ,  and  such  Christian  states 
as  Leon,  Castile,  and  Aragon  attained  a  good  measure 
of  prosperity.  A  long  time,  however,  was  still  to 
elapse  before  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  Arabic 
dominion  in  Spain.  The  work  of  reconquest  was  re- 
laxed, and  it  was  not  till  after  the  consolidation  of  the 
kingdoms  of  Aragon  and  Castile  under  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  that  the  final  victory  was  achieved.  The  sur- 
render of  Grenada  in  1492  proclaimed  for  the  first  time 
the  complete  restoration  of  Spain  to  Christian  sover- 
eignty. 


164  THE  MEDIJiVAL   CHURCH. 

A  closer  consideration  of  the  political  developments 
of  the  Spanish  kingdoms  hardly  comes  within  the  scope 
of  our  inquiry.  We  notice  simply  that  a  commendable 
effort  was  made  to  place  the  power  of  the  sovereign 
under  constitutional  checks.  Both  in  Castile  and  Ara- 
gon  the  principle  of  limited  monarchy  was  very  clearly 
and  emphatically  asserted. 


CHAPTER  IL 

THE  PAPAL  THEOCRACY  AND  OTHER  FEATURES  OF  CHURCH 
CONSTITUTION. 

I. GREGORY  VII.   AND   HIS   MORE   IMMEDIATE 

SUCCESSORS. 

THE  establishment  of  a  theocracy  over  the  restless 
nations  of  the  Occident  was  no  easy  task.  How- 
ever numerous  and  great  the  other  helps  may  have  been, 
there  was  still  the  need  of  the  personality  of  extra- 
ordinary men.  Only  an  ecclesiastical  Csesar,  a  man 
of  imperial  energy  and  will,  was  competent  to  establish 
the  new  empire  of  Rome.  And  even  such  an  agent 
stood  always  dangerously  near  to  the  borders  of  failure. 
Events  occurred  during  the  reigns  of  the  mightiest  of 
the  ecclesiastical  monarchs  which  plainly  prophesied 
that  the  descent  must  erelong  be  made  from  enormous 
power  to  discredited  pretension.  The  papal  ideal  was 
a  dream  of  the  imagination,  a  thing  outside  the  sphere 
of  possible  realization;  and  such  approach  to  it  as 
was  made  was  accomplished  only  at  the  expense  of  an 
extreme  tension  which  could  not  be  lasting. 

Among  those  who  attempted  to  build  up  the  papal 
theocracy,  none  were  better  qualified  for  the  herculean 
task  than  Gregory  VH.     As  a  youth,  he  had  used  the 


166  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

monastic  discipline  to  establish  a  habit  of  self-control 
and  hardihood.  So  the  cloister  in  his  case,  as  in  that 
of  many  others,  was  not  so  much  the  gateway  to  se- 
clusion from  the  world  as  a  place  of  training  for  un- 
usual activity  in  the  world.  He  went  forth  to  grapple 
with  affairs.  For  the  twenty-five  years  preceding  his 
election  to  the  papacy,  he  stood,  so  to  speak,  upon  the 
threshold  of  the  office.  He  was  the  influential  associate, 
counsellor,  and  legate  of  the  Popes.  The  important 
administrations  of  Leo  IX.,  Nicolas  II.,  and  Alexan- 
der II.  were  largely  shaped  by  his  hand.  He  had 
already  been  trained  to  rule  when  he  took  the  sceptre, 
and  he  understood  his  domain,  no  man  of  the  age  hav- 
ing a  clearer  outlook  upon  both  the  political  and  the 
ecclesiastical  condition  of  Europe. 

Gregory  derived  no  small  measure  of  support  from 
the  moral  respect  which  he  commanded.  In  physical 
qualities  he  was  without  special  advantage,  unless  the 
courage  which  preserves  an  appearance  of  perfect  com- 
posure in  the  midst  of  tumult  and  danger  be  numbered 
among  such  qualities.  With  this  sort  of  courage  he 
was  no  doubt  highly  endowed,  as  was  illustrated  in  the 
early  part  of  his  pontificate,  when  the  outlaw  Censius 
and  his  band  broke  in  upon  the  evening  solemnities  in 
the  church  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  dragged  the  Pope 
from  his  ministrations  at  the  altar,  and  hurried  him  off 
to  a  tower.  In  an  emergency  like  this  Gregory  was 
able  to  preserve  the  majesty  of  his  position  by  a  fit- 
ting exhibition  of  calmness.  But  he  was  not  a  man  of 
imposing  physique,  and  in  his  habitual  relations  with 
men  commanded  reverence  mainly  on  the  basis  of  the 
moral  impression  which  he  was  able  to  make.     His  life 


THE  PAPAL   THEOCRACY.  167 

was  undoubtedly  pure  and  austere.  The  enmity  which 
his  reform  policy  called  forth  gave  occasion  indeed  to 
accusations  of  gross  immoralities.  But  these  have  too 
little  show  of  foundation  to  require  any  serious  refuta- 
tion. By  numerous  acts  of  his  administration  he  de- 
clared himself  above  the  ordinary  vices  of  the  Roman 
court.  He  was  inaccessible  to  bribes.  A  count  whose 
unlawful  connections  had  brought  him  under  spiritual 
censures  hoped  by  gifts  to  gain  indulgence  from  the 
Pope.  But  he  found  himself  utterly  mistaken.  Greg- 
ory sent  back  the  presents,  and  informed  him  that  he 
could  accept  nothing  from  him  till  he  had  renounced 
his  sin,  and  meanwhile  could  only  pray  for  the  divine 
compassion  upon  him.  In  answer  to  the  generous  re- 
quest of  the  English  Queen,  Matilda,  to  name  the  gift 
which  he  most  desired  of  her,  Gregory  wrote :  "  What 
gold,  what  gems,  what  treasures  of  this  world  should 
I  desire  from  you  more  than  a  chaste  life,  distribution 
of  your  goods  to  the  poor,  love  of  God  and  your  neigh- 
bor ?  These  and  gifts  like  unto  these  are  what  I  de- 
sire at  your  hands."  ^  A  German  bishop,  Hermann  of 
Bamberg,  who  had  been  deposed  on  account  of  simony, 
sought  to  recover  himself  by  going  to  Rome  furnished 
with  gold  and  advocates.  He  found  the  Pope  deaf 
to  all  such  appeals,  and  determined  to  exact  the  full 
penalty  for  his  misdeeds. 

Along  with  this  general  probity  of  life  Gregory  gave 
some  indications  of  a  more  than  average  breadth  and 
liberality  of  spirit.  The  history  of  his  dealing  with 
Berengar  indicates  that  for  his  own  part  he  was  disin- 
clined to  persecute  him  for  his  denial  of  transubstantia- 
1  Lib.  vii.  epist.  26. 


168  THE  MEDIEVAL  CHURCH. 

tion,  and  was  rather  disturbed  than  pleased  bj^  the 
crusade  which  was  gotten  up  against  the  keen  contro- 
versialist. Again  he  showed  himself  able  to  surmount 
his  prejudice  and  the  prejudice  of  his  age  in  favor  of 
monasticism,  and  rebuked  the  Abbot  of  Cluny  for  open- 
ing the  doors  of  the  cloister  to  a  man  who  was  needed 
in  the  world.  The  terms  of  the  rebuke  were  very  em- 
phatic, as  will  appear  from  the  following :  "  Behold, 
those  who  seem  to  fear  or  to  love  God  flee  from  the 
warfare  of  Christ,  make  secondary  the  salvation  of 
their  brethren,  and,  loving  only  themselves,  seek  a  quiet 
retreat.  The  shepherds  flee ;  flee  also  the  dogs  and 
the  defenders  of  the  flocks.  Wolves  and  robbers  un- 
opposed attack  the  sheep  of  Christ.  You  have  taken 
or  received  a  pious  duke  into  the  quiet  of  Cluny,  and 
you  have  deprived  a  hundred  thousand  Christians  of 
their  protector."  ^  It  is  furthermore  recorded  in  favor 
of  Gregory's  enlightenment  and  liberality  that  he  com- 
manded the  King  of  Denmark  to  put  a  stop  to  his  cruel 
and  foolish  persecution  of  innocent  women  accused  of 
magic,  forbidding  him  to  harbor  the  notion  that  the 
judgments  of  God  were  to  be  escaped,  and  not  rather 
increased,  by  such  means.^ 

We  see  then  that  Gregory  brought  to  his  pontificate 
such  personal  traits  as  would  naturally  command  re- 
spect, and  lessen  umbrage  at  the  usurpation  of  un- 
bounded authority.  His  election  came  as  a  spontaneous 
tribute  to  his  fitness  for  the  high  ofiQce.  Moreover, 
there  was  a  consciousness  that  his  relation  to  the  bold- 
est measures  of  the  preceding  administration  marked 

1  Lib.  vi.  epist.  17. 

2  Lib.  vii.  epist.  21. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  169 

liim  out  as  the  only  man  for  the  exigency.  "•  The  re- 
cent decrees  of  Alexander  II.,"  sa3^s  Villemain,  "  sum- 
moning King  Henry  to  the  bar  of  the  Council  of  Rome, 
made  it  impossible  to  choose  any  other  Pope  than  Hilde- 
brand,  the  intrepid  adviser  of  this  bold  step."  ^  Accord- 
ingly, the  acclamations  of  priests  and  people  summoned 
liim  to  this  office.  While  he  was  yet  celebrating  the 
obsequies  of  his  predecessor  they  thronged  around  the 
archdeacon  and  exclaimed,  ''  Hildebrand  is  Pope  ;  bles- 
sed Peter  has  elected  Hildebrand."  The  cardinals,  as 
it  appeared,  were  equally  ready  and  decided  in  their 
choice.  So  the  Archdeacon  Hildebrand  stepped  from 
virtual  into  acknowledged  rule,  and  began  to  administer 
the  affairs  of  Christendom  as  Gregory  VII. 

Gregory  professed  to  be  utterly  unwilling  to  accept 
the  honor  that  was  thrust  upon  him.  According  to 
one  account  he  carried  his  reluctance  so  far  as  to  re- 
quest the  German  Emperor  to  withhold  the  confirma- 
tion which  he  was  expected  to  ask  (in  conformity  with 
a  custom  that  expired  with  his  pontificate),  at  the  same 
time  warning  him  that,  if  he  were  confirmed  in  the 
papal  office,  he  must  inflict  punishment  for  imperial 
misdeeds.  This  account  has  been  challenged  by  vari- 
ous historians.  Alzog,  however,  accepts  it,  and  says 
that  it  is  supported  by  the  testimony  of  Hildebrand 's 
friend  Bonizo  of  Turin,  by  the  Acta  Vaticana,  and  by 
the  Abbot  William  of  Metz.^  Very  likely  it  was  with 
some  inward  shrinkings  that  Gregory  contemplated  the 
position  of  supreme  pontiff.  While  we  are  not  obliged 
to  take  his  professions  in  all  their  breadth,   we  may 

1  Life  of  Gregory  VII.,  book  iii. 

2  Kirchengeschichte,  §  214. 


170  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

readily  believe  that  the  eager  thirst  for  power,  natural 
to  a  strong  and  aggressive  personality,  was  in  a  measure 
neutralized  by  a  sense  of  its  weighty  responsibilities. 
Gregory  was  too  well  informed  respecting  the  state  of 
Europe  not  to  foresee  the  burdens  involved  in  a  faith- 
ful discharge  of  ecclesiastical  headship.  Letters  to  his 
friends  in  the  early  years  of  his  pontificate  indicate 
how  deeply  he  felt  the  miseries  and  responsibilities  of 
authority  over  a  corrupt  Church  in  the  midst  of  dis- 
ordered states.  In  1074  he  wrote  to  the  Countess 
Beatrice  and  her  daughter  Matilda  in  the  following 
strain :  "  Know  for  the  rest,  that,  contrary  to  the  ex- 
pectation of  all  who  were  with  us,  we  have  escaped 
infirmity  of  body  and  have  recovered  good  health,  — 
a  cause  rather  for  grief  to  us  than  of  rejoicing,  as  we 
think.  For  our  soul  was  tending  toward,  and  with  full 
desire  was  panting  after,  that  country  in  which  He  who 
has  regard  to  our  labor  and  grief  affords  rest  and  refuge 
to  the  weary.  But  reserved  still  to  our  customary  la- 
bors and  boundless  anxieties,  we  suffer  each  hour  as  it 
were  the  sorrows  and  pangs  of  one  giving  birth,  while 
we  are  unable  by  any  means  of  guidance  to  rescue  the 
Church  going  to  wreck  almost  under  our  eyes."  ^  The 
next  year,  writing  to  Hugo,  Abbot  of  Cluny,  he  be- 
sought him  to  pour  out  his  heart  in  tears  and  supplica- 
tions to  Christ,  that  He  might  deign  to  deliver  His 
wretched  servant.  "  For,"  he  continues,  "  I  have  often 
besought  Him  either  to  take  me  from  the  present  life, 
or  to  make  me  useful  to  our  common  mother  [the 
Church]  ;  but  nevertheless  He  has  not  yet  rescued  me 
from  great  tribulation,  nor  made  my  life  useful  as  I  had 

1  Lib.  ii.  epist.  9. 


THE  PAPAL   THEOCRACY.  171 

hoped  to  that  mother  with  whose  cords  He  has  bound 
me.  Exceeding  grief  compasses  me,  and  sorrow  witii- 
out  bounds,  because  the  Oriental  Church  by  the  insti- 
gation of  the  devil  has  fallen  away  from  the  Catholic 
faith.  If  I  look  with  the  glance  of  the  mind  toward 
the  parts  of  the  West,  or  of  the  South,  or  of  the  North, 
I  find  scarcely  anywhere  bishops  who  are  such  by  law- 
ful election  and  mode  of  life,  who  rule  the  Christian 
people  in  the  love  of  Christ  and  not  through  worldly 
ambition ;  and  among  all  secular  princes  I  do  not  find 
any  who  prefer  the  honor  of  God  to  their  own,  and 
righteousness  to  gain.  As  for  those  among  whom  I 
dwell,  Romans,  Lombards,  and  Normans,  as  I  often  tell 
them,  I  pronounce  them  to  be  in  a  manner  worse  than 
Jews  and  Pagans.  When  I  return  to  myself,  I  find  my- 
self so  borne  down  by  the  weight  of  ray  own  conduct 
that  there  remains  no  hope  of  salvation  save  through 
the  compassion  of  Christ  alone.  If  I  did  not  hope  to 
attain  unto  a  better  life,  and  to  become  of  profit  to  the 
holy  Church,  I  would  on  no  account  remain  at  Rome, 
where,  as  I  call  God  to  witness,  I  have  dwelt  by  com- 
pulsion these  twenty  years.  Whence  it  results,  that 
between  sorrow  daily  renewed  and  a  hope  which,  alas, 
is  delayed  too  long,  shaken  by  a  thousand  tempests, 
I  am  so  to  speak  dying  while  I  live."  ^ 

It  is  quite  evident  from  these  testimonies,  that  in  the 
experience  of  Gregory  the  burden  was  fully  equal  to 
the  elation  of  power.  Nevertheless,  he  had  no  disposi- 
tion to  relinquish  aught  of  the  prerogatives  of  his 
office ;  and  his  interpretation  of  those  prerogatives  was 
of  the  boldest  kind.     As  the  head  of  the  Church,  the 

1  Lib.  ii.  epist.  49. 


172  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

vicegerent  of  Christ,  he  claimed  to  be  without  peer  or 
rival  upon  earth,  having  the  oversight  not  only  of  ec- 
clesiastical affairs,  but  also  of  the  secular  so  far  as  con- 
nected with  moral  and  religious  interests,  possessing  a 
sovereignty  which  is  related  to  that  of  earthly  princes 
as  the  sun  to  the  moon,  engaged,  it  may  be,  to  leave 
the  temporal  throne  standing,  but  competent  to  expel 
an  incumbent  and  to  install  another  in  his  place.     In 
short,  Gregory  conceived  of  Christendom  as  a  theoc- 
racy in  which  the  Pope  as  the  visible  representative 
of  God  held  the  supreme  authority.     Leading  Roman 
Catholic  historians  freely  allow  that  this  was  his  con- 
ception.    Says  Alzog :  "  We  believe  with  Hefele  that 
Gregory's  idea  was  as  follows  :  Since  he  saw  the  world 
of  that  time  under  the  power  of  evil,  and  clearly  dis- 
cerned that  the  Pope  alone  could  rescue  from  the  cor- 
ruption, there  hovered  before  him  the  majestic  plan  of  a 
universal  theocracy.     This  was  to  embrace  all  the  king- 
doms of  the  Christian  name,  especially  of  the  West,  in 
one   great   community,   whose    supreme    code   was   to 
be  the  commands  of  God.      The  administrator  of  the 
same   was   to  be  the  Pope,  as   the  visible  representa- 
tive of  God,  having  a  spiritual    sovereignty  which  is 
related  to  the  earthly  sovereignty  of  kings  as  the  sun 
to   the   moon,  the   one  being  the  source    of  the  light 
and  warmth  of  the  other;  in  virtue  of  which  relation, 
however,  the  Papacy  is  never  to  destroy  the  power  of 
the  civil  lords,  or  rob  them  of  their  sovereignty  [that 
is,  as  a  class].     On  the  other  hand,  the  sovereignty  of 
the  civil  lord  must  bow  to  the  higher  sovereignty  of 
God  ;  and  if  the  civil  lord  disallows  this,  he  should  be 
expelled  from  the  theocratic  union  and  thereby  rendered 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  173 

iucapable  of  being  longer  the  representative  of  God  as 
the  ruler  of  an  individual  reahii."  ^  As  the  bame 
writer  remarks,  this  idea  was  not  new,  but  was  asserted 
by  Gregory  more  definitely  and  emphatically  than  by 
his  predecessors.  In  truth,  Gregory  left  no  shadow  of 
doubt  about  his  opinion  of  the  complete  subordination 
of  kings  to  papal  authority.  He  argued  that  the  power 
of  absolution  which  belongs  to  the  priesthood,  upon 
which  all  kings  and  princes  are  dependent,  and  of 
which  they  are  especially  desirous  to  avail  themselves 
when  confronted  by  death,  gives  to  the  priesthood  a 
vast  superiority  over  the  secular  order ;  that  the  Pope 
is  the  head  of  the  priesthood  and  the  supreme  exponent 
of  its  absolving  power  ;  that  he  to  whom  the  spiritual 
order  is  subject  must  be,  with  still  larger  right,  judge 
over  the  inferior  secular  order.^  At  a  council  in  Rome 
in  1080,  giving  the  most  sweeping  application  to  the 
inference  from  the  power  of  binding  and  loosing,  he 
said :  ''  So  act,  I  beseech  you,  most  holy  fathers  and 
princes,  that  all  the  world  may  know  and  understand 
that,  if  you  are  able  to  bind  and  loose  in  heaven,  you 
are  able  upon  earth  to  take  away,  and  to  give  to  whom- 
ever you  pleafee,  empires,  kingdoms,  princedoms,  duchies, 
margravates,  countships,  and  the  possessions  of  all  men 
according  to  their  deserts."  Here,  to  be  sure,  the  Pope 
speaks  of  the  prerogatives  of  the  assembled  prelates ; 
but  in  this  he  was  only  taking  an  indirect  way  to  assert 
the  authority  which  he  claimed  for  himself. 

In   a  number  of   instances   Gregory   borrowed  from 
feudal  terms  a  representation  of  the  subordinate  posi- 

1  Kirchengeschichte,  §  214. 

2  Lib.  iv.  epist.  2 ;  lib.  viii.  epist.  21. 


174  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH, 

tioii  of  sovereigns,  and  claimed  from  them  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  vassalage.  He  looked  upon  Spain  as  a  fief 
of  the  papacy,  and  in  the  first  year  of  his  pontificate 
announced  his  claim  to  the  Spanish  princes  in  these 
terms :  "  You  are  not  unaware,  as  we  think,  that  the 
kingdom  of  Spain  belonged  anciently  by  a  proper  right 
to  St.  Peter,  and  that,  although  it  has  been  occupied  a 
long  time  by  pagans,  the  law  of  justice  not  having  been 
annulled,  it  belongs  still  in  equity  to  no  mortal  but  to 
the  apostolic  seat  alone."  ^  He  preferred  a  like  claim 
to  the  kingdom  of  Hungary .2  He  asked  a  pledge  of 
fealty  from  William  I.  of  England,  —  an  unfortunate 
demand  in  this  case,  for  the  Conqueror  replied  that  he 
had  no  notion  of  rendering  this  token  of  vassalage : 
"  Fidelitatem  facere  nolui,  nee  volo  :  quia  nee  promisi, 
nee  antecessores  meos  antecessoribus  tuis  id  fecisse 
comperio."  A  purpose  to  signify  the  vassal  relation  of 
the  German  realm  may  be  discerned  in  the  inscription, 
Petra  dedit  Petro,  Petrus  diadema  Rudolfo,  which  is 
said  to  have  been  graven  upon  the  crown  which  Greg- 
ory sent  to  Rudolph,  the  competitor  of  Henry  IV.  for 
the  rule  of  Germany. 

In  the  practical  maintenance  of  theocratic  sovereignty 
over  Christendom  Gregorj^  made  much  use  of  the  legate 
system.  Through  his  ambassadors,  whom  he  held  to  a 
strict  accountability,  he  made  himself  virtually  present 
in  all  quarters.  The  outlying  countries  attracted  his 
attention.  He  wrote  to  the  King  of  Sweden  to  send 
representatives  of  the  priesthood  of  his  country  to  Rome 
that  they  might  give  information  respecting  their  own 

1  Lib.  i.  epist.  7 ;  compare  lib.  iv.  epist.  28. 

2  Lib.  ii.  epist.  14. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  175 

land,  and  become  better   acquainted  with  the  Roman 
system.      He   made  a  similar  request   of  the    King  of 
Norway,   directing   him    to   select   youths    of .  promise 
and  rank,  who  after  being  placed  under  Roman  tuition 
might  be  qualified  to  teach  their  countrymen.     Nor  did 
he  confine  his  attention  to  the  West.     He  broached  the 
great  project  of  the  Crusades,  which  was  to  fill  the  at- 
tention  of   Europe   for    the    next   two    centuries,  and 
assigned  as  a  leading  motive  for  such  a  project  the 
probability  that  it  would  result  in  reuniting  the  Eastern 
and  Western  branches  of  the   Church.^     That  the  re- 
united Church  would  be  under  the  supreme  authority 
of  the  Roman  pontiff  was,  of  course,  taken  for  granted. 
Among  the  preliminaries  to  the  proper  enthronement 
of  the  ecclesiastical  over  the  civil  power,  Gregory  saw 
clearly  that  the  abolition  of  the  practice  of  lay  investi- 
ture must  be  included.     It  was  perfectly  evident  that 
independence  must  be  secured  before  a  proper  pre-emi- 
nence could  be  asserted.    So  long  as  bishops  elect  could 
not  enter  upon  their  sees  until  they  had  received  the 
ring  and  the  staff  from  the  civil  lord,  they  must  be  de- 
pendent upon  him.     In  the  view  of  the  civil  lord,  such 
dependence  was  indeed  no  more  than  ought  to  be  ac- 
knowledged.     The  temporalities  of  the  bishoprics  had 
been  given,  at  least  in  many  cases,  under  feudal  tenure. 
It   was  claimed,  therefore,  by  the  civil  lord,  that  the 
bishop   ought  to   give  him  a  token  of   his  obligation, 
ought  to  receive  at  his  hands  the  ring  and  the  staff; 
not  as  though  he  obtained  from  this  source  his  spiritual 
functions,  but  only  the  permit  to  enter  upon  temporali- 
ties for  which  he  was  indebted  to  the  temporal  power. 

1  Lib.  ii.  epist.  31. 


176  THE  MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

The  plea  was  not  without  a  good  measure  of  plausi- 
bility, and  it  is  not  strange  that  sovereigns  were  unwill- 
ing to  relinquish  the  prerogative  of  investiture.  They 
could  not  be  expected  to  receive  with  complacency  the 
demand  to  abandon  so  important  an  item  of  control 
over  estates  and  men.  But  Gregory  from  his  stand- 
point was  bound  to  insist  upon  this  demand.  He  could 
not  tolerate  the  notion  that  the  Church  should  be  thus 
dependent  upon  the  State.  Moreover,  the  practice  of 
lay  investiture  was  obnoxious  to  the  Pope,  as  being 
accessory  to  a  crying  abuse  of  the  times  which  he  was 
determined  to  uproot,  —  the  pestilential  sin  of  simony. 
In  the  view  of  Gregory  there  was  another  great  abuse, 
the  marriage  of  the  clergy,  —  an  abuse  which,  as  he 
conceived,  might  well  draw  down  the  anathemas  of 
heaven  and  earth,  a  thing  in  glaring  contravention  of 
the  legislation  of  the  Church  and  subversive  of  the 
sanctity  and  distinctive  character  of  the  priestly  oflBce. 
The  three  principal  items  then  in  the  reform  scheme  of 
Gregory  were,  (1)  the  enforced  celibacy  of  the  clergy, 
(2)  the  uprooting  of  the  practice  of  simony,  (3)  the 
achievement  of  the  independence  of  the  Church  by  the 
abolition  of  lay  investiture,  or,  more  broadly  speaking, 
the  expulsion  of  the  temporal  power  from  its  interfer- 
ence with  ecclesiastical  offices. 

In  prosecuting  these  measures  of  reform,  Gregory 
might  have  come  about  equally  into  collision  with  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Germany,  so  far  as  the  practices  of 
those  countries  were  concerned.  But  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  there  was  no  conflict  with  England ;  and,  while 
Gregory  early  made  his  complaints  against  the  King  of 
France,  and  called  upon  the  French  bishops  to  tame 


rilE   PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  177 

their  tyrant,  declaring  that  unless  he  mended  his  ways 
resort  should  be  had  to  interdict  and  deposition,^  his 
dealing  with  the  French  monarch  appears  only  as  a 
passing  episode.  The  great  conflict  which  fills  the 
whole  horizon  of  Gregory's  pontificate  was  that  waged 
with  Henry  IV.  of  Germany  and  his  allies. 

In  the  year  1074  the  reforming  pontiff  sent  forth  the 
first  blast  of  the  trumpet,  and  it  was  no  uncertain 
sound  which  fell  upon  the  ears  of  the  nations.  Through 
a  council  convened  at  Rome,  it  was  decreed  that  all 
priests  living  in  relations  of  marriage  or  concubinage 
must  put  away  their  partners  at  once  on  pain  of  sus- 
pension, and  that  all  candidates  for  the  priesthood  must 
engage  to  live  in  perpetual  celibacy.  The  crime  of 
simony  seems  also  to  have  been  denounced  at  the  same 
time,  and  suspension  from  the  service  of  the  altar  de- 
clared against  those  implicated  therein.  But  the  point 
commanding  most  attention  in  the  decree  of  1074  was 
the  absolute  prohibition  of  marriage  to  the  clergy. 
Though  this  was  only  the  reassertion  of  a  law  which 
had  long  been  on  the  statute-book  of  the  Church,  so 
widely  had  the  practice  diverged  from  the  law,  that  its 
emphatic  restatement  by  Gregory  was  received  in  large 
part  as  though  a  revolutionary  edict  had  suddenly  been 
launched  forth.  In  Germany,  in  particular,  there  was 
a  great  ferment.  As  Lambert  of  Aschaffenburg  reports, 
a  large  proportion  of  the  clergy  vehemently  denounced 
the  decree  of  the  Pope,  as  worthy  only  of  a  heretic,  a 
man  of  insane  beliefs,  who  had  overlooked  the  declara- 
tion of  the  Lord  that  not  all  can  receive  the  law  of 
virginity ,2  and  the  explicit  permit  of  the  apostle  that 

1  Lib.  ii.  epist.  5.  *  Matt.  xix.  11,  12. 

12 


178  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

those  convinced  of  their  inability  to  live  in  continence 
should  marry.^  They  insisted  that  the  imposition  of 
such  a  violent  check  upon  the  course  of  nature  would 
eventuate  in  fornication  and  uncleanness,  and  expressed 
an  intention,  if  the  matter  should  be  pressed,  to  for- 
sake the  priesthood  rather  than  their  wives ;  and  then 
the  Pope,  who  was  not  content  with  the  service  of  men, 
might  make  shift  as  he  could  to  secure  the  ministrations 
of  angels  in  the  churches.  Instances  are  reported  in 
which  prelates  and  papal  legates  who  attempted  to  en- 
force the  decree  found  it  necessary  to  forbear  in  order 
to  save  their  lives,  so  great  was  the  fury  with  which 
they  were  assailed.  In  a  number  of  countries  there 
were  outbreaks  of  violence.  But  Gregory  was  unflinch- 
ing, and  in  answer  to  requests  for  some  amelioration  of 
the  decree  refused  to  abate  an  iota  of  his  requirement. 
He  had  expected  fierce  opposition,  and  from  the  first 
prepared  for  it  by  appealing  to  the  laity.  He  exhorted 
the  people  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  married 
priests,  and  sent  instructions  to  prominent  laymen  to 
prevent  such  priests  by  force,  if  need  be,  from  exercis- 
ing their  functions,  —  expedients  not  very  well  in  har- 
mony with  the  maxims  which  the  Church  had  been 
striving  to  inculcate  respecting  the  immunity  of  the 
clergy  from  accusation  and  judgment  at  the  hands  of 
laj'men. 

Gregory  found  allies.  The  monks,  among  others, 
were  generally  faithful  supporters  of  the  decree  of 
celibacy.  But  the  immediate  success  was  far  from 
complete.  In  England  the  authorities  made  no  at- 
tempt to  separate  the  parish  clergy  from  their  wives, 
i  1  Cor.  vii.  5,  9. 10. 


i 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  179 

and  acquiesced  in  the  scheme  of  Gregory  only  to  the 
extent  of  forbidding  marriages  to  be  contracted  in  the 
future.  In  the  practice  of  many  countries,  as  will  be 
noticed  subsequently,  the  rule  of  celibacy  continued  to 
be  very  poorly  observed.  Nevertheless,  the  bold  and 
vigorous  action  of  Gregory  was  not  a  failure.  The 
scheme  of  clerical  celibacy  received  from  him  an  im- 
pulse which  assured  its  triumph  in  the  papal  com- 
munion. 

In  1075  Gregory  proceeded  to  a  decisive  attack  upon 
simony  and  lay  investiture.  At  the  council  which  he 
convened  in  Rome,  besides  passing  censures  upon  in- 
dividuals, he  issued  the  following  decree  :  *'  If  any  one 
henceforth  shall  receive  a  bishopric  or  abbey  from  the 
hand  of  any  lay  person,  he  shall  not  be  regarded  as 
bishop  or  abbot,  nor  shall  any  audience  be  given  him 
as  bishop  or  abbot ;  moreover,  we  interdict  him  the 
grace  of  St.  Peter  and  entrance  into  the  Church,  so 
long  as  he  shall  not  penitently  forsake  the  position 
which  he  has  taken  through  the  crime  of  ambition 
as  well  as  of  disobedience,  which  is  the  impious  sin 
of  idolatry.  We  make  a  similar  ordinance  also  respect- 
ing the  inferior  ecclesiastical  dignities.  Likewise,  if 
any  emperor,  king,  duke,  margrave,  count,  or  a?iy  secu- 
lar power  or  persons,  shall  presume  to  give  investiture 
of  a  bishopric,  or  any  ecclesiastical  dignity,  let  him 
know  that  he  is  bound  with  the  fetters  of  the  same 
sentence."  ^ 

However  unwelcome  such  a  measure  was  to  the 
young  sovereign  of  Germany,  he  found  it  convenient  to 
temporize  for  the  time  being.     The  better  capabilities 

1  Quoted  by  Gieseler,  Kirchengcschiclite,  §  47. 


180  THE  MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

of  Henry  IV.  had  been  kept  in  abeyance  by  the  misera- 
ble and  corrupting  influence  of  his  educators.  Through 
his  own  misrule  and  that  of  his  principal  advisers  he 
had  alienated  a  large  part  of  his  subjects.  A  stubborn 
revolt  had  broken  out  among  the  Saxons.  Being  thus 
hampered  by  the  disturbed  condition  of  his  realm, 
Henry  thought  it  best  to  make  a  show  of  submission 
to  the  requirements  of  Gregory.  The  Pope  very  likely 
did  not  feel  secure  of  the  continued  fidelity  of  Henry ; 
but  he  addressed  him  in  friendly  terms,  and  commended 
him  for  the  support  which  he  gave  to  his  reformatory 
decrees.^  This  style  of  intercourse,  however,  came 
speedily  to  a  close.  The  whole  party  in  Germany  which 
was  touched  by  the  new  edicts  naturally  sought  to  en- 
list the  Emperor  on  its  side.  For  his  own  part,  too, 
he  vehemently  disliked  the  Pope's  interference.  No 
sooner,  then,  had  he  won  freedom  of  action  by  victor}- 
over  the  Saxons,  than  he  made  a  radical  change  of 
bearing.  Gregory  learned  that  he  was  associating  with 
the  excommunicated,  and  was  filling  bishoprics  at  his 
pleasure.  He  therefore  sent  him  an  admonitory  letter, 
giving  instructions  at  the  same  time  to  the  bearer  to 
tell  him  that  he  deserved  to  lose  his  crown,  and  would 
certainly  be  excommunicated  unless  he  should  forth- 
with mend  his  ways.  If  the  report  of  a  contemporary 
writer  may  be  trusted,  Henry  was  even  cited  to  answer 
for  his  misdeeds  before  a  Roman  synod.^ 

A  monarch  with  any  sense  of  self-respect  could  not 

1  Lib.  iii.  epist.  3. 

-  Giesebrecht  is  of  the  opinion  that  this  item,  which  rests  on  the 
authority  of  Lambert,  is  not  to  be  accepted.  (Geschichte  der  deutschen 
Kai^erzeit,  iii.  384.) 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  181 

easily  endure  to  be  coiTected  in  such  a  dictatorial  fash- 
ion. A  respectful  defiance  was  certainly  in  order.  But 
Henry  gave  way  to  an  unseemly  and  impolitic  burst 
of  passion.  At  a  synod  convened  at  Worms  in  Janu- 
ary, 1076,  the  most  scandalous  charges  were  preferred 
against  the  Pope,  and  he  Avas  declared  deposed.  A 
letter  which  accompanied  the  sentence  of  deposition 
began  with  this  address  :  "  Henry,  not  by  usurpation, 
but  by  God's  ordinance  King,  to  Hildebrand,  no  longer 
Pope,  but  the  false  monk." 

Here  surely  was  a  suflBcient  invitation  to  the  thun- 
derbolts of  the  haughty  vicegerent.  As  it  happened, 
Henry's  messenger  reached  Rome  when  a  council,  which 
doubtless  was  designed  to  pay  special  attention  to  his 
case,  had  been  convened  by  the  Pope.  Coming  into 
the  presence  of  the  assembly,  the  messenger  delivered 
the  sentence  of  deposition.  A  loud  outcry  arose,  and 
it  seemed  probable  that  the  daring  ambassador  would 
pay  for  his  audacity  with  his  life.  But  Gregory  inter- 
posed, and  prepared  a  response  more  agreeable  to  the 
majesty  of  his  office.  In  language  impregnated  with 
the  loftiest  assumptions  of  pontifical  sovereignty,  he 
issued  his  sentence.  Having  appealed  to  St.  Peter, 
as  the  successor  of  whom  he  had  received  the  power 
of  binding  and  loosing,  he  continued :  "  Armed  with 
this  confidence,  for  the  honor  and  defence  of  thy  Church, 
in  the  name  of  the  omnipotent  God,  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Spirit,  through  thy  power  and  authority,  I  inter- 
dict Henry  the  King,  son  of  Henry  the  Emperor,  who 
with  unexampled  pride  has  risen  up  against  thy  Church, 
from  the  government  of  the  whole  realm  of  Germany 
and  Italy,  and  I  absolve  all  Christians  from  the  obliga- 


182  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

tion  of  the  oaths  which  they  have  sworn  or  shall  swear 
to  him,  and  I  forbid  that  any  one  should  serve  him  as 
King.  For  it  is  fitting  that  he  who  assails  the  honor 
of  thy  Church  should  himself  lose  the  honor  which  he 
seems  to  have.  And  because  he  has  contemned  the 
obedience  which  befits  a  Christian,  and  refused  to  re- 
turn to  the  Lord  he  renounced,  by  associating  with  the 
excommunicate,  by  spurning  my  counsels,  which,  as 
thou  knowest,  I  have  given  him  for  his  salvation,  and 
by  separating  himself  from  thy  Church  as  a  patron  of 
schism,  I  bind  liim  in  thy  name  and  in  the  bonds  of  thy 
anathema,  that  the  nations  may  know  and  acknowledge 
that  thou  art  Peter,  that  upon  thy  rock  the  Son  of  the 
living  God  has  built  His  Church,  and  that  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it." 

Had  Henry  IV.  been  supported  by  a  united  realm, 
he  might  have  discarded  this  high-sounding  sentence 
and  prepared  for  a  history  of  the  relations  of  the  Em- 
pire and  the  Papacy  far  different  from  that  which  has 
been  recorded.  But  a  part  of  his  subjects  were  rather 
eager  than  otherwise  for  a  pretext  to  dethrone  him. 
His  cause  too  was  lacking  in  moral  prestige.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  bishops  who  had  acted  as  his  sup- 
porters were  men  of  doubtful  conduct,  who  deserved 
to  be  scourged  for  their  misdeeds.  The  popular  mind 
was  largely  open  to  a  superstitious  dread  of  the  papal 
thunder.  So  Henry  found  himself  deserted  b}'  one 
ally  after  another,  and  smitten  as  it  were  with  leprosy 
in  the  sight  of  the  people.  In  his  forsaken  condition 
he  could  do  no  better  than  to  accept  the  terms  imposed 
by  the  Diet  of  Tribur  (October,  1076),  which  required 
him  to  live  as  a  private  person  till  a  council,  which  was 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  183 

to  be  convened  the  next  year  at  Augsburg  under  the 
presidency  of  the  Pope,  should  have  decided  his  case, 
and  also  to  renounce  the  hope  of  reinstatement  if  he 
were  not  released  from  the  ban  within  a  year  from  its 
imposition. 

To  be  tried  by  the  Pope  before  the  dignitaries  of  Ger- 
many, especially  as  one  under  anathema,  was  a  thing 
most    abhorrent  to  the  thought  of  the  humbled  mon- 
arch.   He  determined  to  forestall  this  ordeal,  at  once  so 
crucifying  to  his  feelings  and  so  perilous  to  his  crown, 
by  presenting  himself  in  person  before  the  Pope.     He 
started,   therefore,  for  Italy.      Through  the   rigors  of 
one  of  the  severest  winters  ever  known  in  Europe  he 
crossed  the  Alps  and  sought  the  presence  of  the  Pope. 
He  found  the  successor  of  Peter  by  no  means  ready  to 
embrace  the  prodigal.     Gregory  was  then  stopping  at 
Canossa,   a  fortress  of  the   Countess  Matilda.      Three 
walls  surrounded  this  fortress.     The  discrowned  sover- 
eign found  admission  within  two  of  these,  but  there  his 
progress  was  stayed.     For  three  days  in  the   cold   of 
January  he  stood   in  penitential  garb,  beseeching   au- 
dience of  the  Pope.      At  length  the  intercessions   of 
Matilda  and  others  prevailed  upon  Gregory  to  receive 
the  penitent.     Conditions  of  absolution  were  proposed, 
and  accepted.     Henry  engaged  to  answer  the  charges 
of  his  subjects  in  the  presence  of  the  Pope,  and  to  ac- 
cept the  decision  which  might  be  rendered.    Meanwhile 
he  was  to  assume  neither  the  ensigns  nor  the  authority 
of  a  sovereign,  and  in  case  he  should  be  restored  he 
was  to  rule  in  harmony  with  the  interests  and  the  laws 
of  the  Church. 

The  details  of  this  triumph  of  papal  assumption  over 


184  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

prostrate  kingship  were  published  abroad  by  Gregory 
himself.  Some  have  thought  that  his  motive  in  this 
was  an  unseemly  desire  to  triumph  over  his  adversary, 
and  to  weaken  his  cause  by  a  display  of  his  abasement. 
But  more  probably  Gregory  wished  to  show  the  Sax- 
ons, who  were  highly  displeased  to  have  the  absolution 
granted  at  all,  how  reluctantly  he  had  proceeded  to  the 
measure,  and  with  what  expense  to  the  suppliant. 

The  oppressive  weight  of  the  ban  was  now  lifted. 
It  followed  in  the  nature  of  things  that  a  reaction  should 
ensue.  To  the  inward  promptings  of  shame  there  was 
added  the  stimulus  of  voices  from  without.  Many  of 
the  Lombards  were  no  friends  of  the  Pope,  and  were 
much  aggrieved  that  Henry  should  have  come  into 
Italy  to  abase  himself,  instead  of  to  humble  Gregory. 
They  were  a  thousand  times  more  ready  to  assist  in 
bringing  the  latter  to  pass,  than  to  witness  the  former. 
Their  ill-suppressed  murmurings  by  no  means  increased 
Henry's  satisfaction  with  the  part  which  he  had  played 
at  Canossa.  He  saw,  moreover,  as  the  edge  of  their 
resentment  wore  off,  that  he  could  count  very  largely 
upon  their  support.  So  he  entered  into  friendly  rela- 
tions with  the  Lombards,  and  awaited  the  progress  of 
events. 

The  presence  and  growing  power  of  Henry  in  Italy 
stood  in  the  way  of  Gregory's  departure  for  Germany. 
The  projected  council  at  Augsburg  failed  to  meet;  but 
the  nobles  of  Germany  assembled  at  Forchheim  and 
proceeded  to  elect  Rudolph  of  Swabia  to  the  German 
throne  (March,  1077).  This  transpired  without  the 
special  sanction  of  the  Pope,  or  any  confirmation  from 
him  further  than  the  presence  of  his  legates  at  the  cere- 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  185 

niony  of  consecration.  As  Henry  was  no  longer  under 
the  ban,  the  setting  up  of  a  rival  had  much  of  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  unwarrantable  rebellion.  Enough  of 
sympathy  was  therefore  shown  for  his  cause  to  em- 
bolden him  to  contend  with  Rudolph  for  the  possession 
of  Germany,  and  the  unhappy  country  was  desolated 
with  the  horrors  of  a  civil  war.  With  surprising  inde- 
cision Gregory  delayed  to  decide  between  the  contest- 
ants till  the  3'ear  1080.  He  then  pronounced  in  favor 
of  Rudolph,  placed  Henry  under  anathema,  and  de- 
clared all  Christians  released  from  any  oaths  which 
they  had  sworn  or  should  swear  to  him.  But  no  such 
results  followed  from  this  as  came  from  the  previous 
sentence.  The  party  of  the  excommunicated  monarch 
stood  firm,  and,  as  Rudolph  soon  fell  in  battle,  Henry's 
time  to  exact  vengeance  from  the  Pope  who  had  abased 
him  to  the  earth  arrived.  He  marched  into  Italy  in 
1081.  After  assailing  Rome  for  three  successive  sea- 
sons, he  gained  possession  of  the  larger  portion  of  the 
city,  and  confined  Gregory  to  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo. 
Meanwhile  he  had  set  up  an  anti-pope,  installing  Gui- 
bert  of  Ravenna,  who  took  the  name  of  Clement  HI. 
The  Normans  under  Robert  Guiscard  released  Gregory 
from  his  imprisonment,  at  the  same  time  avenging  a 
popular  assault,  which  their  insolent  bearing  had  insti- 
gated, with  dreadful  carnage  and  destruction.  With 
these  fierce  warriors  Gregory  retired  to  Salerno,  where 
he  died  soon  after,  in  1085.  Through  all  his  misfor- 
tunes he  had  preserved  the  same  unbending  mien,  and 
refused  to  listen  to  any  terms  of  compromise.  The  last 
words  of  the  dying  pontiff  were  in  keeping  with  the 
lofty  bearing  which  he  had   maintained  in  his  official 


186  THE  MEDIJ^VAL    CHURCH. 

station :    "  I  have  loved  righteousness,"  he  said,  "  and 
hated  iniquity,  and  therefore  I  die  in  exile." 

Viewed  in  its  general  outline,  the  pontificate  of  Greg- 
ory VII.  makes  a  certain  impression  of  majesty.  The 
boldness  and  breadth  of  his  scheme,  the  lofty  assump- 
tions which  he  put  forth,  and  the  courage  and  stead- 
fastness which  he  manifested  at  crucial  epochs,  make 
together  an  image  that  is  striking  to  the  imagination. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  there  were  phases  seriously  de- 
tracting from  the  grandeur  of  his  rule.  An  element  of 
calculation  which  lies  far  below  the  plane  of  moral  sub- 
limity is  painfully  apparent.  When  we  behold  him 
sparing  William  the  Conqueror,  and  leaving  him  to  em- 
plo}"  the  prerogative  of  investiture  with  unchallenged 
independence  while  he  treated  the  same  offence  as  a 
capital  crime  in  Henry  IV.,  —  when  we  see  him  again 
delaying  for  years  to  decide  between  the  claims  of 
Henry  and  Rudolph,  the  blood  of  the  German  people 
being  meanwhile  poured  out  like  water  in  the  civil 
strife,  —  what  have  we  but  a  spectacle  of  weakness  and 
irresolution,  in  place  of  moral  intrepidity  and  straight- 
forwardness ?  It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  Gregory 
had  to  act  as  his  limited  resources  allowed,  that  one 
powerful  sovereign  was  enough  to  deal  with  at  a  time, 
and  that  in  dealing  even  with  this  one  it  was  necessary 
to  have  a  prudent  regard  to  favoring  opportunities  and 
means  of  success.  All  this  may  be  true.  But  let  it 
be  granted,  and  what  is  the  conclusion  ?  The  conclu- 
sion is  that  the  papacy,  even  in  the  persons  of  its  no- 
blest and  most  powerful  exponents,  by  meddling  with 
the  affairs  of  nations,  by  aspiring  to  a  temporal  sway, 
has  endangered  the  moral  grandeur  of  its  rule,  has  been 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  187 

driven  aside  from  the  path  of  a  straightforward  and  im- 
jjartial  application  of  principles,  and  has  tended  with  a 
gravitation  not  easily  resisted  toward  the  vulgarity  of 
conmon  political  finesse. 

The  death  of  Gregory  did  not  end  the  struggle. 
Henry  continued  to  support  the  claims  of  an  anti-pope, 
and  for  a  time  quite  effectively.  The  successors  of 
Gregory  were  not  able  to  hold  their  ground  against 
the  nominee  of  the  Emperor.  But  during  the  pontif- 
icate of  Urban  II.,  the  tide  began  to  turn.  The  part 
of  this  Pope  in  instituting  the  first  crusade  gained  him 
such  a  prestige  as  sustained  his  own  authority  and  pre- 
pared a  favorable  ground  for  his  successor,  Paschal  II. 
At  the  same  time  a  defection  occurred  which  abridged 
the  Emperor's  power  and  overwhelmed  him  with  a  grief 
far  more  bitter  than  the  cup  of  death.  First,  his  son 
Conrad,  instigated  by  the  papal  party,  revolted  and 
seized  the  government  of  Italy.  Some  years  later,  his 
son  Henry  endeavored  to  rob  him  of  the  government 
of  Germany,  took  possession  of  his  person,  and  treated 
him  with  most  unfilial  hardness.  A  popular  reaction 
gained  the  freedom  of  the  Emperor  and  secured  him  a 
fair  prospect  of  holding  his  own  against  his  adversaries. 
But  before  the  ordeal  of  battle  had  rendered  a  decision 
the  occasion  for  conflict  was  over.  The  sorrow-stricken 
monarch,  who  was  pierced  by  the  infidelity  of  his  sons 
as  David  by  the  rebellion  of  Absalom,  had  found  release 
in  death  (1106).  He  died  under  the  shadow  of  the 
papal  excommunication.  Five  years  passed  before  his 
body  was  allowed  to  repose  in  a  consecrated  place. 

The  rebellion  of  young  Henry,  if  not  directly  insti- 
gated by  Paschal  11. ,  had  been  blessed  by  him.     With 


188  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

great  promptness,  it  might  be  said  with  great  eagerness, 
he  had  released  the  prince  from  his  oath  of  allegiance 
to  his  father.  As  it  happened,  or  as  Providence  ruled, 
this  trespass  against  the  law  of  nature  was  speedily 
requited.  The  Pope  was  setting  up  the  instrument  of 
his  own  humiliation.  For  never  was  Pope  more  plagued 
or  put  to  deeper  disgrace  by  an  Emperor  than  was  Pas- 
chal by  Henry  V.  As  soon  as  his  policy  was  developed, 
it  became  perfectly  evident  that  Henry  had  no  inclina- 
tion to  resign  the  right  of  investiture.  In  1110  he  de- 
scended into  Italy  with  a  powerful  army,  one  purpose 
of  his  coming  being  the  reception  of  the  imperial 
crown.  The  Pope  of  course  would  not  be  willing  to 
crown  a  disobedient  son  of  the  Church.  But  he  had  no 
means  of  resisting  Henry.  In  this  exigency  he  made 
terms  which  were  a  surprise  to  his  contemporaries,  and 
which  have  continued  to  be  somewhat  of  an  historical 
riddle.  That  a  Pope  should  so  nearl}^  have  anticipated 
a  leading  principle  of  Arnold  of  Brescia  was  truly  re- 
markable. Paschal  agreed  that  the  Church  should 
resign  the  possessions  and  royalties  which  it  had  re- 
ceived from  the  Empire,  on  condition  that  the  Empire 
should  resign  the  right  of  investiture.  Henry,  of  course, 
could  not  object  to  these  terms.  The  vast  possessions 
in  question  being  once  surrendered,  it  would  be  a  small 
thing  to  resign  the  ceremony  of  investiture.  He  there- 
fore expressed  his  assent,  though  he  probably  discerned 
the  impracticable  nature  of  the  compact,  and  well  un- 
derstood that  the  prelates  of  Germany  would  make  a 
desperate  resistance  to  its  fulfilment.  Before  the  coro- 
nation, which  Paschal  had  engaged  to  bestow,  had  taken 
place,  the  feelings  of  the  German  prelates  became  mani- 


I 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  189 

fest.  As  they  would  not  follow  out  the  proposal  which 
the  Pope  had  made  for  them,  Henry  felt  released  from 
his  part  of  the  engagement.  Still  he  insisted  upon  the 
coronation,  and  since  Paschal  would  not  bestow  this 
unless  the  claim  to  investiture  were  given  up,  he  took 
Pope  and  cardinals  prisoners,  and  exacted  as  the  price 
of  freedom  a  treaty  in  which  the  Pope  conceded  to 
him  the  right  of  investiture.  The  coronation  then  took 
place,  and  the  victorious  Emperor  returned  to  Germany. 
Paschal  now  found  the  reproaches  of  his  friends  as  hard 
to  bear  as  had  been  the  persecutions  of  his  ruthless 
antagonist.  Some  of  them  berated  him  without  mercy 
for  the  indignity  which  he  had  brought  upon  the 
Church  by  his  unmanly  surrender.  The  Pope  him- 
self repented  of  his  weakness  in  dust  and  ashes.  He 
would  gladly  have  anathematized  the  Emperor,  but 
was  restrained  by  sense  of  shame,  if  not  of  honor,  from 
breaking  the  solemn  pledge  which  he  had  given.  He 
contented  himself  therefore  with  seeing  the  treaty  con- 
demned as  invalid  by  a  Roman  synod,  and  the  Emperor 
anathematized  through  tlie  agency  of  his  legates. 

Before  the  close  of  his  reign  Henry's  supremacy  in 
Germany  became  so  far  endangered  that  he  was  willing 
to  make  some  concession  for  the  sake  of  reconciliation 
with  the  papacy.  The  result  of  the  negotiations  that 
were  opened  was  the  Concordat  of  Worms,  which  was 
ratified  in  1122.  The  Emperor  on  his  side  gave  up  all 
claim  to  investiture  by  ring  and  staff,  guaranteed  canon- 
ical election  and  free  consecration  in  all  churches,  and 
promised  restoration  of  possessions  and  feudal  sover- 
eignties w^hich  had  been  taken  from  the  Church  during 
the  time  of  discord.     The  Pope  on  his  part  conceded 


190  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

that  the  bishops  and  abbots  belonging  to  the  German 
realm  should  be  elected  in  the  presence  of  the  Em- 
peror, only  without  simony  and  violence,  and  should 
receive  from  him  authority  to  enter  upon  the  tem- 
poralities of  their  positions  through  the  touch  of  the 
sceptre.^ 

This  may  be  regarded  as  not  an  unfair  settlement  of 
questions  in  dispute.  The  old  form  of  investiture  was 
objectionable,  inasmuch  as  the  ring  and  the  staff  were 
the  proper  ensigns  of  the  spiritual  functions  of  the 
bishop.  Their  delivery  by  the  temporal  prince  might 
seem  to  imply  a  dependence  of  the  bishop  upon  the 
State  for  his  spiritual  prerogatives.  This  inference  was 
indeed  denied.  Still  a  ceremony  whose  natural  signifi- 
cance needed  to  be  explained  away  were  better  dis- 
pensed with.  The  Concordat  provided  a  more  suitable 
form  of  investiture.  By  guaranteeing  free  election, 
it  secured  the  rights  of  the  Church.  By  retaining  in- 
vestiture in  any  form  it  left  to  the  sovereign  a  means 
of  asserting  lordship  over  vast  estates,  which  were  not 
designed,  as  they  were  given  to  the  Church,  to  pass 
into  the  rank  of  independent  property. 

The  result  fell  short  of  that  complete  independence 
which  Gregory  VII.  wished  to  secure  for  the  Church. 
At  the  same  time,  inasmuch  as  the  State  conceded  a 
portion  of  the  prerogative  which  it  had  freely  used  for 
a  long  period,  the  Church  appears  as  the  gaining  party 
in  the  settlement. 

It  should  be  noticed  that  the  compromise  which  was 
effected   at  Worms  in  1122  had   been  anticipated  in 

1  "  Electus  regalia  per  sceptrura  a  te  [imperatore]  recipiat,  et  quae 

ex  his  jure  tibi  debet,  faciat." 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  191 

England  by  a  similar  settlement.  Henry  I.  at  his  rec- 
onciliation with  Anselm,  agreed  to  give  up  the  cere- 
mony of  investiture,  requiring  only  that  bishops  should 
do  homage  to  him  for  their  temporalities. 


II.  —  ALEXANDER   III.   AND   THOMAS   BECKET. 

The  peace  which  was  consummated  through  the  Con- 
cordat of  Worms  was  not  seriously  threatened  till  after 
the  middle  of  the  century.  The  most  prominent  figure 
in  Europe  during  this  interval  was  neither  Pope  nor 
Emperor,  but  that  marvellous  combination  of  lofty  de- 
votion and  practical  force,  that  unequalled  union  of 
monk  and  man  of  affairs,  Bernard  of  Clairvaux.  The 
contemporary  Popes  did  not  possess  the  eminent  talents 
which  might  qualify  them  for  new  conquests.  More- 
over, they  were  confronted  by  such  difficulties  at  home 
as  naturally  restrained  them  from  going  abroad  for  oc- 
casions of  quarrel.  Among  these  difficulties  was  a 
schism.  This  had  its  origin,  not  in  interference  from 
without,  but  in  the  partisanship  of  the  electors.  By 
hasty  action  a  section  of  the  cardinals  in  1130  suc- 
ceeded in  installing  Innocent  II.  Not  to  be  foiled  in 
this  way,  the  opposing  party  declared  the  election  in- 
valid, and  proceeded  to  choose  Anacletus  II.  By  alli- 
ance with  Roger  of  Sicily,  Anacletus  commanded  the 
ascendency  in  Italy.  Innocent  was  forced  to  take  refuge 
in  France  ;  but,  supported  by  the  eloquent  champion- 
ship of  Bernard,  he  retrieved  his  fortunes,  and  in  1136 
reinstated  himself  at  Rome. 

Before  the  close  of  Innocent's  administration  another 
serious   difficulty  assailed   the   papacy.     By   the   year 


192  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

1139  the  protests  of  Arnold  of  Brescia  against  the 
worldliness  and  wealth  of  the  clergy,  and  his  vigorous 
emphasis  upon  the  need  of  renouncing  secular  affairs 
and  returning  to  apostolic  simplicity,  had  made  no  small 
stir  in  his  native  city.  At  the  Lateran  Council  which 
was  convened  in  that  year,  it  was  thought  necessary  to 
check  the  agitator.  Innocent  accordingly  ordered  Ar- 
nold to  leave  the  soil  of  Italy  and  not  to  return  without 
the  papal  permit.  Arnold  retired  to  France  and  then 
to  Switzerland,  but  after  a  few  years  made  bold  to  ally 
himself  with  the  republican  movement  which  had  been 
started  at  Rome.  For  a  time  he  held  the  field.  The 
republican  scheme  had  a  complete  ascendency.  The 
Popes  were  relegated  to  a  purely  spiritual  jurisdiction, 
their  temporal  authority  was  denied,  and  the  govern- 
ment of  Rome  was  intrusted  to  a  Senate.  Innocent 
was  unable  to  quell  the  uprising  of  popular  enthu- 
siasm, and  died  in  the  midst  of  his  unavailing  efforts. 
One  of  his  successors,  Lucius  II.,  fared  still  worse,  be- 
ing killed  while  attempting  to  storm  the  Capitol  at 
the  head  of  his  troops.  Eugenius  III.,  who  followed, 
was  an  exile  from  Rome  for  a  large  part  of  his  pon- 
tificate. 

First  under  Adrian  IV.,  who  became  Pope  in  1154, 
was  an  effective  movement  made  for  dislodging  Ar- 
nold and  overthrowing  his  institutions.  Soon  after 
Adrian's  inauguration,  a  fatal  assault  upon  one  of  the 
cardinals  gave  him  an  occasion  for  a  decisive  fulmi- 
nation.  Rome  was  placed  under  interdict,  and  as  a 
condition  of  its  removal  the  city  was  required  to  ex- 
pel Arnold.  Shortly  afterwards  the  champion  of  the 
Roman    republic   fell   into   the  hands  of  the  German 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  193 

Emperor,  Frederic  Barbarossa.  As  Frederic  neither 
sympathized  with  his  enthusiasms  nor  appreciated  the 
instrumentality  that  might  have  been  found  in  him  for 
antagonizing  the  ambitions  of  the  papacy,  he  dehvered 
him  over  to  his  enemies  in  Rome,  who  executed  him  in 
all  haste,  and  cast  his  ashes  into  the  Tiber. 

The  Emperor  and  the  Pope,  between  whom  a  kind 
of  bond  might  appear  to  have  been  established  by  the 
sacrifice  of  Arnold,  were  both  eminently  fitted  to  ini- 
tiate a  quarrel  over  prerogatives.  Frederic  held  lofty 
views  of  imperial  rights.  He  claimed  an  unrivalled 
supremacy  in  things  temporal.  He  spurned  the  notion 
that  his  authority  was  one  which  needed  any  papal 
sanction.  His  crown  was  from  God  ;  to  say  that  it 
came  from  the  successor  of  St.  Peter  was  to  indulge 
a  lying  assertion,  contradictory  to  the  divine  arrange- 
ment  and  to  the  doctrine  of  St.  Peter  himself.  These 
ideas  were  backed  up  by  a  strong  will  and  a  command- 
ing force  of  character  which  powerfully  impressed  men. 
Frederic  Barbarossa,  therefore,  was  well  qualified  to 
inaugurate  the  first  stage  of  the  hundred  years'  war 
between  the   Hohenstaufen  family  and  the  papacy. 

Adrian  IV.,  who  left  his  home  as  Nicolas  Break- 
speare  to  find  preferment  in  a  French  monastery,  to  fill 
the  position  of  cardinal  and  legate,  and  lastly  to  present 
the  solitary  instance  of  an  Englishman  upon  the  papal 
throne,  was  a  man  of  aspiring  temper  and  ready  cour- 
age, holding  high  notions  of  his  office,  and  not  inclined 
to  tolerate  any  encroachment.  We  have  a  specimen  of 
his  idea  of  pontifical  sovereignty  in  his  grant  of  Ireland 
to  Henry  II.  of  England.  Holding  that  the  Roman 
see  has  a  special  claim  upon  all  islands  which  have  re- 

13 


194  THE  MEDIjEVAL   CHURCH. 

ceived  the  Christian  oracles,  he  proceeded  formally  to 
sacrifice  the  independence  of  the  Irish  people.  In  the 
bull  which  fulfilled  the  request  of  Henry,  and  author- 
ized him  to  conquer  the  island,  is  the  following :  "-  We 
therefore,  with  the  grace  and  acceptance  suited  to  your 
pious  and  laudable  design,  and  favorabl}^  assenting  to 
your  petition,  hold  it  good  and  acceptable  that,  for  ex- 
tending the  borders  of  the  Church,  restraining  the  pro- 
gress of  vice,  for  the  correction  of  manners,  the  plant- 
ing of  virtue,  and  the  increase  of  the  Christian  religion, 
you  enter  that  island,  and  execute  therein  whatever 
shall  pertain  to  the  honor  of  God  and  welfare  of  the 
land ;  and  that  the  people  of  the  land  receive  you  hon- 
orably, and  reverence  you  as  their  lord,  —  the  rights 
of  their  churches  still  remaining  sacred  and  inviolate, 
and  saying  to  St.  Peter  the  annual  pension  of  one 
penny  from  every  house."  ^  No  wonder  that  Irish 
patriots  of  the  Roman  Catholic  persuasion  find  here  an 
occasion  of  much  perplexity!  "Adrian's  bull,"  says 
Lanigan,  "  is  of  so  unwarrantable  and  unjustifiable  a 
nature,  that  some  writers  could  not  bring  themselves 
to  believe  that  he  issued  it,  and  have  endeavored  to 
prove  it  a  forgery ;  but  their  efforts  were  of  no  avail, 
and  never  did  there  exist  a  more  real  or  authentic  docu- 
ment." 2 

Such  a  Pope  was  not  likely  to  remain  on  terms  of 
amity  with  the  ambitious  Frederic.  The  Emperor  took 
umbrage  at  language  of  Adrian  and  of  his  legates  which 
was  thought  to  imply  that  he  held  his  crown  by  the 
grace  of  the  Pope.     He  was  angered,  moreover,  by  the 

1  Quoted  by  W.  D.  Killen,  Eccl.  Hist,  of  Ireland. 

2  Eccl.  Hist,  of  Ireland,  vol.  iv.  chap.  28. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  195 

alliance  of  tlie  Pope  with  the  King  of  Sicily,  as  being 
a  menace  to  his  own  rule  in  Italy.  Adrian  on  his  part 
complained  that  the  Emperor  exacted  the  oath  of  vas- 
salage from  the  bishops,  hindered  appeals,  and  restricted 
the  action  of  the  papal  legates  in  Germany.  Especially 
was  he  vexed  by  Frederic's  manifest  and  even  avowed 
determination  to  assert  the  imperial  sovereignty  over 
Rome.  A  rupture  seemed  inevitable.  Indeed,  Adrian 
was  about  to  launch  forth  sentence  of  excommunication, 
when  the  hand  of  death  passed  over  the  conflict  to  his 
successor  (1159). 

That  successor  was  Alexander  III.  He  was  the 
choice  of  the  party  which  favored  the  bold  policy  of 
Adrian  IV.  The  cardinals,  however,  were  not  all 
friendly  to  such  a  policy.  Some  of  them  favored  peace 
with  the  Emperor.  The  result  was  another  schism. 
Alexander  III.  was  confronted  by  a  rival,  who  bore  the 
name  of  Victor  IV.  The  Emperor,  with  commendable 
moderation,  made  no  choice  between  the  contestants, 
but  convened  a  council  at  Pavia  to  pass  upon  their 
claims.  This  council,  whose  authority  Alexander  from 
the  first  refused  to  acknowledge,  gave  its  verdict  in 
favor  of  Victor.  For  a  time  the  imperial  patronage 
gave  Victor  the  ascendency  in  Italy.  Alexander  III. 
in  1162  was  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  France.  But 
erelong  he  found  means  for  a  successful  struggle.  Espe- 
cially was  a  pow^erful  instrument  prepared  to  his  hand 
in  the  cities  of  Northern  Italy,  which  the  arbitrary 
rule  of  Frederic  had  alienated.  As  previously  stated, 
the  arms  of  the  cities  gained  a  signal  victory  upon 
the  field  of  Legnano  in  1176.  The  following  year  the 
defeated  Emperor  humbled  himself  at  Venice  before 


196  THE  MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

the  victorious  Pope  and  received  from  him  the  kiss  of 
peace. ^  But  Frederic's  prostration  upon  the  pavement 
of  Venice  was  no  token  of  his  settled  disposition.  He 
had  still  courage  and  energy  for  recovering  lost  ground, 
and  had  made  progress  toward  reinstating  the  imperial 
rule  in  Italy,  when  he  embarked  upon  the  crusade  from 
which  he  never  returned.  He  was  drowned  while  at- 
tempting to  cross  a  river  in  Asia  Minor  (1190). 

Contemporary  with  the  conflict  between  Alexander 
III.  and  Frederic  I.  occurred  one  of  the  most  stirring 
crises  in  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  England.  It  was 
during  the  Pope's  exile  in  France  that  the  famous 
quarrel  between  Thomas  Becket  and  Henry  II.  broke 
out.  The  quarrel  was  an  exhibition  of  the  same  an- 
tagonism which  had  been  displayed  on  the  Continent 
upon  a  larger  scale.  Becket  was  an  English  Hildebrand, 
entertaining  the  loftiest  notions  respecting  the  preroga- 
tives of  his  order,  and  concerned  for  nothing  so  much 
as  to  resist  every  encroachment  upon  his  rights  as  pri- 
mate of  England.  "  Who  doubts,"  he  wrote  in  the 
midst  of  the  strife,  "  that  the  priests  of  Christ  are  to 
be  considered  the  fathers  and  masters  of  kings  and 
princes,  and  of  all  the  faithful?  Is  it  not  seen  to  be 
a  miserable  insanity,  when  the  son  attempts  to  subju- 

1  The  Pope,  according  to  the  representation  of  an  old  chronicle,  tri- 
umphed over  the  Emperor  in  good  earnest :  "  Imperator  Alexandrinum 
in  sede  Romana  coUocavit,  ubi  Imperator  coronam  deposuit,  et  proster- 
nens  se  super  terram,  Papa  super  guttur  Imperatoris  pedem  sinistrum 
fixit,  et  elevato  altero  pede  ad  alteram  partem  prosiliit  dicens :  Super 
aspidum  et  hasiUscum  amhulahis,  et  conculcahis  leonem  et  draconem.  Cui 
Imperator :  Non  tibi,  sed  Petro.  Et  Papa :  Non  dignitati,  sed  Frederico. 
Tunc  Papa  coronam  Imperii  eidem  restituit  cum  pede."  (Gualvaneus 
riamma,  Historia  Mediolanensis,  cap.  ccvi.,  apud  Muratori,  xi.  651  ) 


THE  PAPAL   THEOCRACY.  197 

gate  the  father,  the  disciple  the  master,  and  to  bring 
under  the  unholy  bonds  of  his  own  power  the  one  by 
whom  he  believes  he  can  be  bound  and  loosed,  not  only 
upon  earth,  but  also  in  heaven  ?  "  ^  Again  he  remarks : 
*'  It  is  certain  that  kings  receive  their  power  from  the 
Church,  whereas  the  Church  receives  its  power  not  from 
them,  but  from  Christ."  ^  Henry  II.,  on  the  other  hand, 
entertained  high  notions  of  his  rights  as  king,  and  drew 
his  standard  rather  from  the  practice  of  his  royal  pre- 
decessors than  from  the  teachings  with  which  Rome 
had  been  endeavoring  to  enlighten  princes  for  some 
generations.  However,  it  was  not  in  virtue  of  any 
such  general  declaration  of  principles  that  the  quarrel 
was  begun.  The  subject  of  dispute  was  primarily  much 
more  concrete  and  specific,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  nar- 
rative of  Becket's  relations  with  Henry. 

The  first  noteworthy  advancement  of  Becket,  who 
was  the  son  of  a  London  citizen  of  respectable  stand- 
ing, was  due  to  the  favorable  impression  which  his 
talents  made  upon  Theobald,  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury. Through  the  kindness  of  the  primate,  he  was 
enabled  to  perfect  his  education  upon  the  Continent 
by  the  study  of  law  at  Bologna  and  Auxerre.  His  ca- 
pacity for  business  having  been  proved  by  the  success- 
ful execution  of  some  matters  of  diplomacy,  he  was 
brought  into  prominence,  and  in  1154  was  rewarded  with 
the  lucrative  and  influential  position  of  Archdeacon  of 
Canterbury.  Not  long  thereafter,  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  Theobald,  who  wished  to  have  near  the  King  a 
competent  guardian  of  the  interests  of  the  Church,  he 
was  raised  to  the  position  of  Chancellor.     But  in  this 

1  Epist.  Ixxiii.  2  Epist.  clxxix. 


198  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

office  Becket,  so  far  as  is  discoverable,  was  not  at  all 
conspicuous  for  carrying  out  the  intent  of  Theobald.  He 
appeared  rather  as  the  faithful  coadjutor  of  the  King 
than  as  the  champion  of  the  Church.  As  is  evident 
from  the  references  of  John  of  Salisbury  and  others,  he 
was  so  far  a  co-agent  or  instrument  in  the  King's  exac- 
tions as  to  gain  somewhat  of  a  reputation  as  a  spoiler 
of  the  Church  and  the  clergy.^  On  the  testimony  of 
all  the  contemporary  biographers,  it  is  perfectly  plain 
that  the  tone  of  his  life  was  pre-eminently  secular. 
The  appearance  which  he  presented  to  the  world  was 
that  of  a  magnificent  courtier,  who  wellnigh  outshone 
the  King  in  the  splendor  of  his  retinue  and  the  sump- 
tuousness  of  his  banquets. 

Henry  very  naturally  supposed  that  the  Chancellor 
who  had  shown  so  little  disposition  to  give  an  undue 
prominence  to  ecclesiastical  interests  would  be  a  safe 
man  to  put  over  the  Church.  Accordingly,  in  1162, 
Becket  was  made  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  But 
the  mistake  of  the  King  very  soon  became  apparent. 
Becket  was  no  sooner  archbishop  than  he  ceased  at 
once  to  be  the  courtier,  and  became  exclusively  the 
ecclesiastic.  While  he  retained  much  of  his  outward 
state,  and  was  quite  as  prodigal  of  display  as  was  ex- 
pected of  an  archbishop,  he  subjected  himself  to  monas- 
tic severities,  and  exhibited  a  zeal  for  his  order  whose 
fanatical  intensity  could  not  have  been  excelled  if  it  had 
been  diligently  nurtured  for  a  score  of  years. 

Among  the  tokens  of  the  new  temper  in  Becket  was 
the  resignation  of  the  chancellorship.  This  was  to  the 
King  a  source  of  surprise,  if  not  of  alienation.  Another 
1  J.  C.  Robertson,  Biography  of  Becket,  chap.  v. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY. 


199 


thing  wliich  he  was  not  able  to  regard  with  complacency 
was^the  grasping  way  in  which  the  Archbishop  went 
to  work  to  recover  whatever  was  deemed  to  belong  to 
his  see.     He    seemed   to   entertain   the   principle  that 
church  property  could  not  be  alienated.     "  Everything 
that  had  ever  been   given  to   the  Church  was  to  be 
claimed,  while  nothing  that  had  been  parted  with  was 
to    be  abandoned;    and   documents   were    to  be  reck- 
oned valid  or  worthless,  according  as  they  made  for  or 
against   the  ecclesiastical   claims."  ^     It  was   also  dis- 
pleasing to  the  King  that  Becket  should  excommunicate 
one  of  his  tenants  without  asking  leave.     Furthermore, 
his  resentment  was  stirred  when  the  prelate  thwarted 
his  plan  of  appropriating  certain  sheriff's  fees,  though 
in  this  particular  instance  it  is  quite  evident  that  he 
was  only  standing  in  the  way  of  an  aggression. 

The  great  subject  of  dispute,  however,  was  the  im- 
munities of  the  clergy.     Becket  held  that  the  clergy 
were  amenable  only  to  the  ecclesiastical  tribunal ;  that 
a  heinous  crime  was  to  be  punished  with  degradation 
from  the  clerical  standing;  that  in  accordance  with  law 
and  reason  a  single  crime  could  not  receive  a  double 
punishment ;  and  that  consequently  only  a  crime  com- 
mitted after  degradation  could  come  under  the  cogni- 
zance of  the  civil  power,  and  be  punished  by  the  same.'^ 
This  theorv  was  not  without  support  in  English  law. 
A  basis  for^'it  at  least  was  supplied  in  the  legislation  of 
William  the  Conqueror,  though  Becket  seems  not  to 
have  appealed   to  this  fact.     -  In  Saxon  times,''   says 
Robertson,  "both  clergy  and  laity  had  been  subject  to 
mixed  tribunals, -the  archdeacon  sitting  with  the  secu- 

1  Robertson,  Biography,  chap.  v.         "^  Edward  Grim,  S.  ThomoB  Vita. 


200  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

lar  judge  in  the  court  of  the  hundred,  and  the  bishop 
with  the  earl  in  the  county  court.  This  arrangement 
had,  indeed,  been  abolished  by  William  the  Conqueror, 
who  ordered  that  the  jurisdictions  should  be  separated. 
But  it  would  seem  that,  notwithstanding  the  new  law, 
the  separation  of  the  courts  was  not  generally  carried 
out  before  the  latter  part  of  Henry  the  First's  reign. 
And  in  whatever  degree  the  law  of  William  may  have 
contributed  towards  that  exemption  from  secular  judg- 
ment which  the  clergy  had  at  length  all  but  completely 
established  for  themselves  during  the  troubled  reign 
of  Stephen,  Becket  is  never  found  to  have  appealed  to 
it.  If,  indeed,  he  had  relied  on  the  Conqueror's  law, 
he  might  have  been  told  that  experience  had  abundantly 
proved  the  necessity  of  its  repeal.  But  he  would  have 
scorned  such  a  foundation  for  his  pretensions  ;  he  claimed 
the  immunities  as  an  inherent  right  of  the  clergy."  ^ 

Becket's  position  was  no  doubt  that  which  was  nat- 
urally dictated  by  the  hierarchical  standpoint  of  the 
time.  It  was  part  and  parcel  of  the  high-churchism  of 
the  age.  The  position  none  the  less  was  a  mischievous 
one.  For  the  clerical  immunities,  while  they  may  have 
sheltered  from  unjust  violence  in  many  instances,  by 
affording  a  comparative  freedom  from  punishment,  of- 
fered a  scandalous  encouragement  to  the  indulgence  of 
all  the  evil  passions  of  human  nature.  The  King  had 
just  cause  for  complaint  and  indignation.  He  saw  that 
exemption  from  the  proper  penalties  of  the  law  was 
causing  the  law  to  be  defied,  to  the  injury  and  scandal 
of  his  government.  He  determined  therefore  to  lift  the 
shield  from  clerical  offenders,  and  to  bring  them  within 

1  Biography,  chap.  v. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY,  201 

the  reach  of  the  civil  arm.  With  this  intent  he  sum- 
moned the  bishops  and  abbots  to  meet  him  at  West- 
minster in  October,  1163.  He  told  them  that  he  was 
prevented  by  the  immunities  of  the  clergy  from  fulfil- 
ling the  oath  which  he  had  taken  at  his  coronation,  and 
asked  their  concurrence  in  the  remedial  measures  which 
he  proposed.  ''  I  am  bent,"  he  said,  "  on  having  peace 
and  tranquillity  through  all  my  dominions,  and  I  am 
much  annoyed  at  the  disturbances  which  the  crimes 
of  the  clergy  have  occasioned ;  they  do  not  hesitate 
to  commit  robbery  of  all  kinds,  and  very  often  murder 
also.  I  therefore  demand  your  consent,  my  lord  of 
Canterbury,  and  the  consent  of  all  the  other  bishops 
also,  that  when  clerks  are  detected  in  crimes,  and  con- 
victed either  by  the  judgment  of  the  court  or  by  their 
own  confession,  they  shall  be  stripped  of  their  orders, 
and  given  over  to  the  officers  of  my  court,  to  receive  cor- 
poral punishment,  without  protection  from  the  Church. 
I  also  demand  that  whilst  the  ceremony  of  stripping 
them  of  their  orders  is  performed,  some  of  my  officials 
shall  be  present  to  seize  the  culprit  immediately,  lest 
he  should  find  an  opportunity  of  escaping."  ^  The 
bishops  at  first  demurred  at  this  demand.  The  King 
then  asked  them  individually  if  they  would  obey  the 
customs  of  the  realm.  Following  the  lead  of  Becket, 
they  replied  that  they  would,  ''saving  their  order." 
This  reservation  greatly  enraged  the  King,  and  he  in- 
sisted upon  an  unqualified  assent.  At  length,  the 
bishops  generally  gave  way,  and  even  Becket  was  pre- 
vailed upon,  in  a  private  interview,  to  give  a  verbal 
promise  of  submission.     According  to  one  account,  he 

1  Quoted  by  J.  A.  Giles,  Life  and  Letters  of  Becket. 


202  THE  MEDh^VAL   CHURCH. 

was  constrained  to  this  step  by  the  representations  of 
the  envoy  of  Alexander  III.,  who  wished  to  keep  on 
good  terms  with  the  EngUsh  King,  as  he  had  need  of  his 
aid  in  the  struggle  with  Frederic  and  the  anti-pope. 

Henry  used  Becket's  concession  in  a  way  indicating 
either  that  he  doubted  his  good  faith,  or  was  bent  upon 
punishing  him  for  his  vexatious  opposition.  In  January, 
1164,  he  called  a  council  at  Clarendon  in  order  that  the 
promise  of  the  Archbishop  to  observe  the  customs  might 
be  ratified  in  a  public  and  formal  manner.  Becket 
signified  that  he  was  not  sufficiently  aware  of  what  the 
customs  were.  The  King  therefore  caused  that  they 
should  be  reduced  to  writing.  So  originated  the  Consti- 
tutions of  Clarendon.  Those  who  were  intrusted  with 
their  compilation  omitted  no  important  item  which 
usage  had  in  any  wise  sanctioned  as  a  part  of  the  royal 
prerogative.  That  they  included  none  which  were 
wholly  destitute  of  historical  warrant  seems  to  be  im- 
plied by  the  fact  that  thej^  were  not  attacked  from  this 
side  by  Becket  or  his  party .^  The  more  important  pro- 
visions were  as  follows:  (1)  Ecclesiastics  accused  of 
any  crime,  having  been  cited  by  the  King's  justiciary, 
shall  come  before  his  court,  where  shall  be  determined 
what  pertains  to  the  King's  court  and  what  to  the  ec- 
clesiastical court.  To  the  latter  court  an  officer  shall 
be  sent  to  watch  the  trial.     If  the  ecclesiastic  shall  be 

1  A  competent  investigator  has  thus  characterized  the  Constitutions  : 
"  They  are  no  mere  engine  of  tyranny  or  secular  spite  against  a  churcli- 
man ;  they  are  really  a  part  of  a  great  scheme  of  administrative  reform, 
by  which  the  debatable  ground  between  the  spiritual  and  temporal 
powers  can  be  brought  within  the  reach  of  common  justice,  and  the 
lawlessness  arising  from  professional  jealousies  abolished."  (Slubbs, 
Constitutional  History  of  England,  i.  466.) 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  203 

convicted,  or  shall  confess,  he  is  to  receive  no  further 
protection  from  the  Church.  (2)  No  archbishop  or 
other  person  shall  leave  the  kingdom  without  the  King's 
license,  and  those  receiving  this  shall  give  security  that 
neither  in  going  nor  in  returning,  nor  during  their  stay, 
will  they  work  any  harm  to  the  King  or  the  realm. 
(3)  Archbishops,  bishops,  and  all  persons  of  the  realm 
who  are  tenants  in  chief  of  the  King,  have  their  pos- 
sessions of  the  King  as  barons,  and  hence  they  shall 
be  amenable  to  the  King's  justiciaries  and  ministers, 
and  shall  fulfil  all  the  customary  feudal  obligations,  and 
shall  sit  with  the  barons  in  the  King's  trials,  except  in 
cases  affecting  life  and  limb.  (4)  Appeals  shall  pass 
from  the  archdeacon  to  the  bishop,  from  the  bishop  to 
the  archbishop,  and,  if  the  archbishop  shall  fail  to  do 
justice,  resort  shall  be  had  to  the  King.  Beyond  the 
King  the  case  cannot  be  carried  without  his  consent,  — 
a  provision  aimed  against  appeals  to  the  Pope.  (5)  No 
tenant  in  chief  of  the  King,  or  officer  of  his  household, 
shall  be  excommunicated,  or  have  his  lands  placed  under 
interdict,  until  the  King  has  been  consulted,  or,  in  his 
absence,  his  justiciary,  and  what  is  pertinent  in  the  case 
to  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  tribunal  respectively  has 
been  referred  to  each.  (6)  The  revenues  of  vacant 
sees  and  abbeys  shall  be  at  the  King's  disposal.  Those 
who  are  qualified  to  act  as  electors  shall  give  their  votes 
in  the  King's  chapel,  with  the  assent  of  the  King  him- 
self, and.  of  the  council  which  he  has  convened  for  the 
purpose.  And  there  before  his  consecration  the  person 
elected  shall  render  homage  and  pledge  of  fidelity  to 
the  King  as  his  liege  lord,  for  life,  limb,  and  worldly 
honor,  saving  his  order. 


204  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

These  Constitutions  were  plainly  at  war  with  the 
principles  which  had  been  championed  at  Rome  from 
the  time  of  Gregory  VII. ,  and  with  the  ecclesiasticism 
to  which  Becket  was  devoted  heart  and  soul.  But  so 
great  was  the  clamor  raised  by  the  King's  partisans, 
that  the  primate  concluded  that  for  the  time  being  he 
must  appear  to  yield.  So  in  the  presence  of  the  assem- 
bly he  promised  to  observe  the  customs.  He  was  then 
asked  to  set  his  seal  to  the  Constitutions.  Whether 
he  overcame  his  repugnance  to  this  demand,  so  far  as 
to  assent,  is  somewhat  uncertain.  Fitzstephen,  in  his 
Life  of  Becket,  gives  us  to  understand  that  he  yielded 
on  this  point  also.  He  says:  "  Timore  mortis,  et  ut 
regem  mitigaret,  acquievit  ad  tempus,  assensu  et  in 
verbo  veritatis  stipulatione,  et  sigillorum  suorum  im- 
pressione."  But  other  accounts  leave  the  point  more 
in  the  mist. 

Once  away  from  Clarendon,  Becket  immediately  took 
pains  to  express  his  abhorrence  of  his  own  act  in  sur- 
rendering to  the  King's  demand.  He  suspended  him- 
self from  serving  at  the  altar,  and  sent  across  the  Chan- 
nel to  obtain  absolution  from  the  Pope.  Soon,  in  direct 
violation  of  the  Constitutions,  he  attempted  to  make 
his  escape  to  the  Pope.  Such  an  attempt  revealed  of 
course  to  the  King  that  Becket's  pledges  meant  noth- 
ing. He  determined  therefore  to  crush  the  rebellious 
prelate.  At  a  Parliament  convened  at  Northampton  in 
1164,  as  the  most  available  device  for  his  overthrow, 
he  was  called  to  account  for  revenues  which  had  passed 
into  his  hands  when  he  was  chancellor,  and  was  charged 
with  responsibility  for  an  enormous  sum  of  money. 
Becket    observed    the    plain   intent   to   grant   him   no 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  205 

quarter,  and  in  the  absence  of  other  resource  fled  to 
France,  to  make  his  appeal  to  the  Pope.  Henry  caused 
the  Archbishop's  property  to  be  confiscated,  and  with 
•unseemly  tyranny  banished  his  kindred,  his  servants, 
and  all  who  had  harbored  him  in  his  flight. 

The  narrative  of  Becket's  six  years'  exile  need  not 
be  given  in  detail.  It  was  a  time  of  diplomacy.  Alex- 
ander III.,  beset  at  once  by  Becket  and  by  the  envoys 
of  Henry,  accommodated  his  course  to  his  judgment  of 
his  prospects  in  his  own  struggle  against  formidable 
antagonists.  While  he  undoubtedly  abhorred  the  Con- 
stitutions of  Clarendon  he  could  not  afford  to  make  an 
enemy  of  the  English  King,  and  drive  him  into  alliance 
with  the  German  Emperor.  So  he  temporized,  some- 
times encouraging  one  party  and  sometimes  another. 
The  best  satisfaction  which  Becket  was  able  to  obtain 
was  the  privilege  in  1166,  in  virtue  of  a  legatine  power 
over  the  greater  part  of  England,  to  anathematize  the 
Constitutions  of  Clarendon,  to  absolve  the  bishops  from 
their  pledge  to  keep  them,  to  excommunicate  or  sus- 
pend some  offending  ecclesiastics,  and  to  threaten  the 
King  with  excommunication  if  he  should  not  repent  and 
change  his  course.  Other  excommunications  followed 
in  the  ensuing  years,  the  Bishop  of  London  being 
among  the  victims.  But  Becket  had  to  pay  for  these 
onslaughts  by  seeing  the  curb  put  upon  himself  and 
some  of  his  censures  annulled  by  the  Pope.  His  vexa- 
tion at  times  knew  no  bounds,  and  he  exclaimed  against 
the  conduct  of  the  Pope  in  terms  which  might  help  out 
the  bitterest  adversary  of  the  papacy  with  a  vocabulary 
of  invective.  "  I  know  not  how  it  is,"  he  wrote,  "  that 
in  the  court  of  Rome  the  Lord's  side  is  always  sacri- 


206  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH, 

ficed,  —  that  Barabbas  escapes  and  Christ  is  put  to 
death."  ^  At  length,  after  endless  negotiations,  a  for- 
mal reconciliation  was  accomplished  between  the  King 
and  the  Archbishop  at  the  conference  of  Freteval  in 
1170. 

Becket  returned  in  the  spirit  in  which  Saul  of  Tar- 
sus journeyed  to  Damascus.  Instead  of  a  message  of 
peace,  he  sent  before  himself  the  anathema.  His  feel- 
ings had  been  exasperated  by  the  recent  coronation 
of  the  King's  son,  —  a  ceremony  which  he  regarded  as 
peculiarly  the  prerogative  of  the  see  of  Canterbury. 
The  Archbishop  of  York,  who  officiated  at  the  corona- 
tion, was  suspended,  and  sentence  of  excommunication 
was  renewed  against  the  Bishops  of  London  and  Salis- 
bury. 

A  report  of  Becket's  unrelenting  spirit  and  harsh 
measures,  a  report  which  very  likely  grew  in  the  pro- 
cess of  transmission,  drove  Henry  into  a  frenzy  of  rage. 
In  the  midst  of  his  invectives  he  uttered  the  passionate 
words,  "  Spiritless  and  miserable  men  have  I  nurtured 
and  raised  up  in  my  kingdom,  who  refuse  to  keep  faith 
with  their  lord,  and  suffer  him  to  be  so  ignominiously 
mocked  by  a  low-born  priest."  ^  Four  of  the  King's 
knights  took  this  exclamation  as  a  commission  to  exe- 
cute vengeance  upon  the  Archbishop.  As  note  was 
taken  of  their  absence,  messengers  were  sent  to  fore- 
stall the  deed  which,  it  was  feared,  they  might  be  con- 
templating. But  the  messengers  were  outstripped,  and 
Becket  was  murdered  in  the  cathedral  of  Canterbury, 
the  29th  of  December,  1170. 

A  power  emanated  from  the  blood  which  stained  the 
1  Quoted  by  Robertson.  ^  Sq  given  by  Grim. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  207 

pavement  of  the  cathedral,  before  which  all  opposition 
went  down.  Criticism  of  the  victim  was  cast  into  the 
background  by  the  horror  of  his  tragic  fate.  The  King 
himself  was  overwhelmed  with  grief  and  terror.  Becket 
was  now  sanctified  in  popular  thought  as  a  martyr. 
Questionings  as  to  whether  he  had  not  forfeited  that 
holy  name  by  his  obstinacy  and  passion,  and  lack  of 
humility,  had  little  chance  of  holding  their  ground 
against  reports  of  supernatural  attestations  of  his  sanc- 
tity. The  rumor  of  repeated  miracles  carried  every- 
thing before  it.  The  tomb  of  Becket  became  the 
unrivalled  shrine.  Before  three  years  had  passed,  Rome 
ventured  to  enroll  him  among  the  saints ;  and  scarcely 
another  year  had  passed  before  his  royal  antagonist  had 
approached  his  tomb  with  bare  and  bleeding  feet,  and 
spent  a  night  and  a  day  there  with  abject  tokens  of 
penitence. 

The  King  had  lost  his  cause.  A  single  deed  of 
bloody  violence  cancelled  all  opportunity  to  limit  the 
overgrown  prerogatives  of  the  ecclesiastical  power.  It 
was  with  extreme  difficulty  that  Henry  saved  himself 
from  the  papal  anathema.  As  it  was,  he  escaped  only 
at  the  cost  of  abandoning  the  Constitutions  of  Clar- 
endon, and  promising  certain  costly  services  to  the 
Church. 

Very  different  measures  of  sympathy  have  been 
awarded  to  the  principal  actors  in  this  great  quarrel. 
Each  has  been  the  subject  of  lavish  commendation  and 
unstinted  reproach.  But  it  is  evident  that  neither 
praise  nor  blame  should  be  undivided.  The  King  was 
undoubtedly  perfectly  right  in  his  desire  to  reform  the 
abuse  of  clerical  immunities.      The  reform  was  some- 


208  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

tiling  which  simple  justice  and  good  government  de- 
manded. A  resolute  attempt  to  break  down  the  shield 
of  crime,  conducted  in  the  right  spirit,  would  have 
been  something  worthy  of  his  kingship.  But  he  failed 
of  the  right  spirit.  He  gave  way  to  resentment.  He 
answered  priestly  assumption  with  an  overstraining  of 
royal  prerogative,  and  was  impelled  into  acts  of  tyran- 
nical violence  in  his  attempts  to  humble  and  to  distress 
his  opponent.  As  for  Becket,  he  may  be  credited  with 
a  good  measure  of  conscientious  conviction.  He  prob- 
ably believed  that  he  was  called  upon  to  defend  the 
sacred  rights  of  the  Church.  But  he  conducted  the  de- 
fence as  a  partisan,  —  yea,  as  a  bigot.  He  was  without 
largeness  of  heart  or  clearness  of  vision.  The  rights 
of  his  order  and  the  prerogatives  of  his  see  claimed  his 
whole  ardor.  In  his  view,  usurpation  against  these  was 
the  one  crime.  He  had  no  prophet's  voice  to  denounce 
other  sins  and  iniquities  in  high  places.  Only  encroach- 
ments against  the  ecclesiastical  domain,  and  especially 
against  the  archiepiscopal  throne  of  Canterbury,  called 
forth  his  censures.  His  whole  struggle,  in  short,  was 
a  struggle  for  mere  power.  Granting  that  it  was  not 
a  display  of  selfishness,  it  was  at  least  a  display  of 
narrowness.  To  seek  mere  power  for  the  Church  in  a 
spirit  which  ignores  the  ethical  and  spiritual  basis  of 
the  Church,  even  though  one  sacrifice  himself  in  the 
seeking,  is  justly  to  incur  the  charge  of  narrowness  and 
fanaticism.  We  will  not  impeach  the  honest  intention 
of  Becket.  We  will  not  refuse  a  certain  admiration  for 
the  steadfastness  with  which  he  fought  out  his  cause. 
But  we  blush  for  the  moral  judgment  of  one  who,  with 
anything  like  an  adequate  knowledge  of  his  history. 


THE   PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  209 

can  pronounce  him  a  saint.  The  canonization  of  Becket 
may  be  placed  along  with  other  instances  of  libel  upon 
the  New  Testament  ideal. 


III.  ^  INNOCENT   III. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  fact  that  the  tempo- 
rary humiliation  of  Frederic  Barbarossa  had  been  fol- 
lowed by  a  vigorous  and  successful  assertion  of  imperial 
claims.  Great  advantage  accrued  to  the  Empire  in 
particular  from  the  marriage  of  Frederic's  son  Henry 
to  Constance,  the  heiress  of  the  Norman  dominion  in 
Sicily  and  Southern  Italy.  The  transfer  of  sovereignty 
over  this  territory  to  the  Hohenstaufen  family  took 
away  a  valuable  support  from  the  papacy,  and  exposed 
it  on  all  sides  to  the  power  of  an  ambitious  rival.  The 
inconvenience  of  the  situation  became  at  once  apparent. 
For  Henry  VI.,  who  received  the  imperial  office  on  the 
death  of  Frederic,  was  not  a  man  from  whom  an  oppo- 
nent could  expect  any  leniency  or  concession.  As  ag- 
gressive in  spirit  as  his  father,  he  was  far  less  restrained 
by  the  dictates  of  honor.  Treating  the  papal  censures 
as  unworthy  of  notice,  crushing  opposition  with  equal 
vigor,  cruelty,  and  unscrupulousness,  he  advanced  to  a 
controlling  power  in  Italy.  The  gains,  however,  which 
he  made  were  of  very  uncertain  tenure.  His  tyranny 
strengthened  and  embittered  the  opposition  to  the  Em- 
pire which  was  always  cherished  by  a  part  of  the  Italian 
people,  while  his  early  death,  in  1197,  left  no  one  from 
his  house  to  take  up  the  sceptre.  His  son  Frederic  was 
then  but  an  infant.  The  Empire  had  no  competent 
champion   against  the  papacy.     On  the   contrary,  the 

14 


210  THE  MEDIJ^VAL    CHUllCH, 

struggle  of  rival  claimants  for  the  imperial  honor  in- 
vited the  Roman  pontiff  to  interfere,  to  the  magnifying 
of  his  own  superiority.  At  this  juncture,  too,  a  man 
came  to  the  papal  throne  who  was  qualified  to  make 
the  most  of  the  opportunity,  —  a  man  whose  capacity 
for  rule  has  never  been  excelled  by  any  one  who  has 
called  himself  a  successor  of  Peter. 

Historians  very  commonly  agree  in  the  verdict  that 
Innocent  III.  marks  the  culmination  of  the  papal  theoc- 
racy. Other  pontiffs  may  have  put  forth  equal  preten- 
sions ,  but  in  the  actual  exercise  of  governing  power, 
in  the  successful  maintenance  of  sovereignty,  Innocent 
stands  at  the  point  of  highest  elevation  in  the  whole 
line.  His  achievements  were  on  a  truly  magnificent 
scale.  As  respects  their  moral  quality,  they  will  not 
indeed  appear  unstained.  The  vice  of  autocratic  power 
is  too  plainly  revealed  to  escape  detection.  Still  the 
administration  of  Innocent  III.  bears  in  general  the  ap- 
pearance of  moral  respectability.  Like  Gregory  VII., 
he  knew  how  to  despise  a  bribe,  and  sought  to  drive  out 
the  plague  of  venality  from  his  neighborhood.  If  his 
censorship  over  the  nations  was  not  carried  out  with 
full  impartiality,  it  was  often  used  to  scourge  a  mani- 
fest injustice.  No  open  turpitude  cancelled  the  respect 
of  his  contemporaries.  He  had  the  prestige  of  superior 
learning.  His  study  at  the  universities  of  Paris  and  Bo- 
logna had  given  him  a  good  understanding  of  theology 
and  an  almost  unequalled  mastery  of  law.  Unlike  a 
majority  of  the  Popes,  he  came  to  his  pontificate  in  the 
undiminished  vigor  of  his  years,  being  installed  at  the 
early  age  of  thirty-seven.  The  long  term  of  eighteen 
j^ears  (1198-1216)  gave  him  full  scope  for  the  execution 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  211 

of  arduous  enterprises.  To  one,  therefore,  who  is  not 
revolted  by  his  boundless  assumption  and  dictatorial 
exercise  of  authority.  Innocent  III.  will  not  appear 
otherwise  than  as  an  imposing  figure  in  history.  A 
Roman  Catholic  at  all  tinged  with  Ultramontanism  will 
take  no  exception  to  the  following  words  of  Alzog: 
"  If  Innocent  had  found  occasion  to  show  his  steadfast- 
ness against  outward  misfortune,  as  did  Gregory  VII. 
and  Alexander  III.,  whom  he  far  surpassed  in  theologi- 
cal and  juristic  learning,  as  well  as  in  executive  ability, 
so  would  one  be  obliged  to  pronounce  him  the  greatest 
successor  of  Peter ;  in  any  case,  he  exalted  the  chair 
of  Peter  to  the  highest  honor."  ^ 

The  conception  of  theocratic  rule  had  been  so  fully 
outlined  by  Gregory  VII.  that  there  was  little  occasion 
to  add  thereto.  Accordingly,  we  find  Innocent's  defi- 
nitions of  papal  prerogatives  substantially  the  same  as 
those  of  his  powerful  predecessor  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury. He  regarded  the  Pope  as  the  central  luminary, 
the  sun  of  the  ecclesiastical  sj^stem.  His  jurisdiction 
in  things  spiritual  —  so  he  wrote  to  the  French  King  — 
has  no  limits ;  by  the  divine  ordinance,  it  is  so  full  that 
it  admits  of  no  addition.^  Other  dignitaries  of  the 
Church  stand  in  servant  relations.  Among  the  apostolic 
seats  the  Roman  is  as  the  throne  which  the  Revelator 
saw,  while  the  relative  position  of  the  four  patriarch- 
ates, Alexandria,  Antioch,  Jerusalem,  and  Constanti- 
nople, is  symbolized  by  the  four  living  creatures  which 
rendered  their  homage  before  the  throne.'*^  The  Pope 
indeed  bears  the  name  of  a  servant,  that  he  may  not 

1  Kirchengeschichte,  §  221.  ^  i^h^  yj.  epist.  163. 

3  Lib.  XV.  epist.  156. 


212  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

forget  the  demands  of  humility.  But  still,  as  the  vice- 
gerent of  Christ,  he  occupies  a  kind  of  superhuman 
station.  ^'  He  stands  in  the  midst  between  God  and 
man ;  below  God,  above  man ;  less  than  God,  more 
than  man.  He  judges  all,  is  judged  by  none."  ^  In  the 
spiritual  organism  he  is  the  head,  and  just  as  the  head, 
which  is  the  principal  seat  of  the  senses,  bears  rule 
among  the  members  of  the  body,  so  the  successors  of 
Peter  have  a  commanding  primacy  over  all  the  prelates 
of  the  Church.2  As  for  temporal  rulers,  they  belong 
to  a  quite  different  sphere.  Their  jurisdiction  extends 
simply  over  bodies,  not  over  souls.  They  have  each 
but  a  single  realm,  whereas  the  successor  of  Peter  rules 
with  unbounded  sway,  as  the  vicar  of  Him  to  whom 
the  whole  earth  belongs.  Their  glory  is  a  borrowed 
glory.  "  As  the  moon  derives  its  light  from  the  sun, 
and  is  inferior  to  it  at  once  in  quantity  and  quality,  in 
position  as  well  as  in  effect,  so  the  regal  power  derives 
the  splendor  of  its  dignity  from  pontifical  authority."  ^ 
In  a  word,  kings  are  the  servants  of  the  Pope.  He  is 
their  instructor  as  to  their  duties,  the  censor  of  their 
conduct,  the  arbiter  of  their  disputes,  the  disposer,  in 
case  of  stubborn  disobedience,  of  their  crowns. 

The  practice  of  Innocent  corresponded  to  his  theory. 

1  "  Videtis  quis  iste  servus,  qui  super  familiara  constituitur,  profecto 
vicarius  Jesu  Christi,  successor  Petri,  Christus  Domini,  Deus  Pharaonis : 
inter  Deum  et  hominem  merlius  constitutus,  citra  Deum,  sed  ultra  homi- 
nem ;  minor  Deo,  sed  major  homine :  qui  de  omnibus  judical,  et  a  ne- 
mine  judicatur;  apostoli  voce  pronuntians  'qui  me  judicat,  Dorainus, 
est.'"     (Serm.  ii.  in  Consecrat.  Pontif.  Max.,  Opera  Innocent.,  iv.  658.) 

2  Lib.  i.  epist.  117,  320  ;  ii.  209. 

3  See  messages  to  Philip  of  Swabia,  Otho,  and  the  nobles  of  Tus- 
cany. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  213 

The  words  which  he  addressed  to  John  of  England, 
ecce  te7isus  est  arcus^^  are  a  good  symbol  of  his  attitude 
toward  kings  and  emperors.  He  might  appropriately 
be  pictured  as  standing  with  bended  bow  upon  the  ram- 
parts of  Rome,  glancing  around  the  horizon  of  Chris- 
tendom in  search  of  the  recreant  prince  who  should 
next  be  made  to  feel  the  envenomed  arrow  of  his  spir- 
itual censures.  As  the  narrative  of  his  pontificate  will 
reveal,  he  often  aimed  his  arrows  to  good  effect.  Still, 
it  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  Innocent  III. 
was  uniformly  victorious.  No  aggressive  pontiff  ever 
sat  in  the  chair  of  Peter,  who  was  not  met  with  more 
or  less  of  successful  defiance.  Even  under  the  power- 
ful rule  of  Innocent  III.  there  were  enough  instances  in 
which  the  papal  will  was  discarded,  and  the  papal  de- 
crees brought  to  naught,  to  show  the  uncertain  tenure 
of  the  papal  autocracy.  At  more  than  one  point  we 
gain  the  suggestion  that  a  moderate  change  of  popular 
sentiment,  a  little  decrease  of  superstitious  awe  and  a 
little  increase  of  manly  independence,  was  all  that  was 
needed  to  turn  the  balance  against  the  Pope,  and  enable 
princes  to  contemn  his  fulminations.  Fidelity  to  his- 
tory requires  a  record  not  only  of  the  great  victories  of 
Innocent  III.,  but  also  of  their  offsets. 

Like  other  Popes,  Innocent  found  the  people  in  his 
immediate  neighborhood  the  most  difficult  to  rule. 
While  he  gained  so  important  a  tribute  to  his  authority 
as  the  oath  of  allegiance  from  the  Prefect  of  Rome,^ 

1  Lib.  xi.  epist.  211.  Another  figure  which  he  brought  out  for  the 
benefit  of  Jolm  was  that  of  the  rod  alongside  the  manna  in  the  ark. 
(Rymer,  Fcedera,  i.  58.) 

2  Gesta,  §  8 ;  Epistolse,  i.  23. 


214  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

he  was  not  able  to  maintain  a  steady  control  over  the 
factious  populace.  In  one  instance  opposition  reached 
such  a  pitch  that  he  was  in  a  manner  forced  to  take 
refuge  elsewhere.  But  m  Italy  at  large  he  obtained  a 
considerable  advantage.  By  availing  himself  of  the 
reaction  against  the  imperial  rule,  and  allying  himself 
with  the  republican  leagues  of  the  cities,  he  was  able 
to  hold  in  check  the  ambitious  leaders  of  the  German 
forces  whom  the  death  of  the  Emperor  had  left  to 
strive  for  their  own  promotion.  In  Southern  Italy  and 
Sicily  he  gained  in  terms,  if  not  in  full  reality,  a  very 
decided  recognition  of  papal  right  and  pre-eminence. 
This  came  through  the  widow  of  Henry  VI.  As  the 
price  of  securing  protection  and  acknowledgment  for 
her  infant  son  Frederic,  in  the  succession  to  the  king- 
dom of  Naples  and  Sicily,  Constance  stipulated  that 
this  realm  should  be  held  as  a  hef  of  the  papacy,  its 
sovereign  swearing  allegiance  to  the  Pope  and  paying 
tribute  to  him. 

In  Germany  the  contest  for  the  vacant  throne  gave 
Innocent  a  fine  opportunity,  at  the  opening  of  his  pon- 
tificate, to  figure  as  supreme  arbiter  over  princes  and 
nations.  The  choice  of  a  majority  of  the  electors  fell 
upon  Philip,  of  the  house  of  Hohenstaufen,  and  uncle 
of  the  infant  Frederic.  But  the  oj)ponents  of  this 
house  refused  to  acknowledge  Philip,  and,  proceeding 
to  elect  Otho,  son  of  Henry  the  Lion  and  nephew  of 
the  English  King  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,  gave  over 
Germany  to  the  horrors  of  civil  war.  The  superior 
claim  of  Philip,  so  far  as  legitimacy  of  election  was 
concerned,  was  sufficiently  clear.  But  in  the  eyes  of 
Innocent  this   was  a  circumstance    of  small   account. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  215 

The  fact  that  Pliilip  belonged  to  the  hated  Hohenstaa- 
fen  family,  and  was  less  likely  to  feel  under  obligation 
than  was  his  rival,  outweighed  all  other  considerations. 
Accordingly,  in  1201  he  pronounced  in  favor  of  Otho. 
In  the  document  which  set  forth  the  grounds  of  this 
decision,  no  attempt  was  made  to  conceal  its  arbitrary 
nature.  On  the  contrary,  the  Pope  confessed  that  be- 
fore the  standard  of  German  law  and  custom  Philip  had 
the  better  right.  But  he  did  not  consider  himself 
bound  by  national  customs.  Philip,  he  said,  belonged 
to  a  race  of  persecutors,  and  had  himself  given  evi- 
dence of  a  disposition  to  injure  the  papal  interests. 
Having  cited  in  this  connection  a  long  list  of  offences 
committed  by  the  Hohenstaufen  Emperors,  and  quoted 
Old  Testament  precedents  for  visiting  the  iniquities  of 
the  fathers  upon  the  children,  Innocent  proceeded  as 
follows :  "  As  for  Otho,  it  seems  not  lawful  to  espouse 
his  cause,  since  he  was  elected  by  a  minority ;  not  be- 
coming, lest  we  appear  to  extend  the  apostolic  favor  to 
him  not  so  much  out  of  good  will  to  him  as  from  hatred 
to  another  ;  not  expedient,  because  he  is  the  weaker 
party  of  the  two.  But  since,  among  those  who  are 
wont  to  have  most  weight  in  the  election  of  an  Em- 
peror, as  many  are  known  to  have  voted  for  Otho  as 
for  Philip,  or  even  more  ;  since  Otho  is  better  fitted 
to  rule  the  Empire  than  Philip  ;  since  also  the  Lord 
punishes  the  sins  of  the  fathers  in  the  children  to  the 
third  and  fourth  generation  of  them  that  hate  Him,  that 
is  in  those  who  imitate  the  sins  of  their  fathers ;  since 
Philip  imitates  the  sins  of  his  ancestors  in  persecuting 
the  Church ;  since  the  Lord  is  recorded  to  have  chosen 
the  weak  things  to  confound  the  mighty,  as  He  raised 


216  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

David  to  the  throne,  it  appears  lawful,  befitting,  and 
expedient  to  bestow  upon  Otho  the  favor  of  the  apos- 
tolic see."  ^ 

In  the  sequel,  Innocent  paid  rather  dearly  for  the 
pleasure  which  he  may  have  experienced  in  issuing  this 
dictatorial  sentence.  By  supporting  the  weaker,  as 
well  as  the  less  rightful  claimant,  he  gave  occasion  to  a 
prolonged  conflict  in  Germany.  Philip  was  found  to  be 
abundantly  able  to  sustain  himself  in  the  face  of  papal 
censures.  After  ten  years  of  civil  war  his  cause  was 
so  far  in  the  ascendant  that  the  Pope  began  to  show  a 
disposition  to  yield  to  the  inevitable,  and  to  acknowl- 
edge the  claim  of  PhiUp  before  it  should  be  too  late  to 
make  favorable  terms.  Negotiations  had  been  ojjened 
and  the  ban  had  been  removed  when  the  hand  of  an 
assassin  released  Innocent  from  the  necessity  of  ren- 
dering further  concessions  to  an  adversary.  Philip  fell 
a  victim  to  private  vengeance  in  1208.  This  gave  the 
field  to  Otho,  and  in  1209  he  received  the  imperial 
crown  at  Rome.  Now  came  the  reward  of  his  papal 
patron ;  for  no  sooner  had  Otho  gained  his  crown  than 
he  discarded  the  hand  which  had  placed  it  upon  his 
head.  His  fair  promises  were  thrown  to  the  winds,  and 
with  all  the  grasping  energy  of  a  Henry  VI.  he  pro- 
ceeded to  assert  the  imperial  rule  over  Italy.  It  was 
a  bitter  cup  for  the  lofty  vicegerent ;  and  Innocent 
showed  well  how  deeply  he  felt  its  bitterness.  In  most 
instances  of  dealing  with  refractory  monarchs  he  put 
on  a  show  of  restraint,  and  called  them  beloved  sons 
even  in  the  act  of  passing  sentence  against  them.  But 
no  such  honeyed  terms  were  bestowed  upon  the  Otho 

1  Migne,  Patrologia,  Innocentii  Opera,  torn.  iv.  pp.  1025-1031. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  21T 

who  had  responded  to  support  and  promotion  with  in- 
jury and  ingratitude.  Impelled  bj^  a  wrath  too  great 
to  be  held  in  check,  the  Pope  spoke  of  him  in  his  offi- 
cial addresses  as  an  ''  impious  persecutor,"  an  "  excom- 
municated and  accursed  tyrant."  ^  Otho  cared  little 
for  the  opprobrious  epithets  or  for  the  anathemas  of 
the  Pope.  But  more  formidable  means  were  to  be 
encountered.  A  scion  of  the  illustrious  Hohenstaufen 
family  was  still  at  hand,  whom  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
people  could  easily  raise  into  a  victorious  rival.  Bent 
on  the  overthrow  of  Otho,  the  Pope  did  not  hesitate  to 
support  the  cause  of  the  young  Frederic,  who  appeared 
in  Germany  in  1212,  and  three  years  later  had  gained 
settled  possession  of  the  German  crown.  Thus  circum- 
stances compelled  Innocent  to  undo  his  own  work.  He 
ended  by  confirming  the  sovereignty  to  the  house  from 
which  he  had  attempted  to  take  it  by  his  arbitrary 
decree. 

One  of  the  most  notable  victories  of  Innocent  was 
gained  in  France.  For  here  he  triumphed  over  a  sov- 
ereign of  uncommon  boldness  and  vigor,  Philip  Au- 
gustus, the  strongest  of  the  Capetians  up  to  that  time. 
A  domestic  offence  supplied  the  first  occasion  for  inter- 
ference and  censure.  In  1193  Philip,  who  was  then  a 
widower,  stipulated  for  the  hand  of  the  Danish  Princess 
Ingeburga.  But  the  princess  had  scarcely  been  received 
and  the  nuptial  bond  acknowledged,  before  Philip  con- 
ceived for  her  an  unconquerable  repugnance.  As  a 
narrator  of  the  times  reports,  he  was  observed,  during 
the  coronation  service  for  the  new  queen,  to  grow  pale, 
and  to  tremble  with  such  violent  emotion  as  made  it 
1  Lib.  xiv.  epist.  78  i  xv.  20;  xv.  31;  xv.  138. 


213  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

difficult  for  him  to  await  the  end  of  the  ceremonial.'^ 
Forthwith,  whispers  about  a  divorce  began  to  be  heard. 
On  the  plea  of  a  distant  relationship,  the  subservient 
j)relates  of  France  acceded  to  the  wish  of  the  King,  and 
declared  the  marriage  with  Ingeburga  annulled.  As 
the  discarded  princess  refused  to  return  to  her  own 
country,  she  was  sent  into  a  convent.  Philip  then  pro- 
ceeded to  consummate  a  marriage  with  Agnes  of  Meran, 
■who  bore  him  children  and  for  whom  he  came  to  enter- 
tain a  passionate  attachment.  Meanwhile,  in  pursuance 
of  the  appeal  of  the  injured  party,  the  case  had  passed 
under  the  judgment  of  the  Pope.  The  measures  of 
Celestine,  Innocent's  predecessor,  failed  to  bring  any 
redress.  So  the  matter  stood,  when  the  resolute  pon- 
tiff turned  his  attention  toward  France.  After  intro- 
ducing the  subject  in  the  way  of  expostulation  and 
warning,  he  gave  peremptory  instructions  to  his  legates, 
authorizing  and  requiring  them,  in  case  the  King  did 
not  yield  before  a  certain  date,  to  impose  an  interdict 
upon  the  whole  French  realm.  Appeal  from  the  action 
of  the  legates  was  excluded,  and  so  long  as  the  inter- 
dict was  in  force  no  other  sacred  rite  than  the  baptism 
of  infants  and  the  absolution  of  the  dying  was  to  be 
allowed.  The  threatened  sentence  was  imposed.  A 
silence  like  that  of  death  settled  upon  the  churches. 
The  venerated  relics  were  removed  from  sight.  The 
crucifix  was  veiled.  Rites  of  burial  which  affection  and 
piety  so  earnestly  coveted  were  refused.  An  entire  na- 
tion was  punished  in  order  to  humble  its  chief. 

For  a  time  Philip  put  on  as  stubborn  a  front  as  in- 
jured royalty  could  well  assume.     Doing  his  utmost  to 

1  Gesta  Innocentii  III.,  §  48. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  219 

nullify  the  interdict,  lie  drove  out  priest  and  prelate 
who  attempted  to  observe  it,  and  vented  his  displeasure 
also  upon  laymen  who  countenanced  such  attempts. 
But  the  tide  of  popular  feeling  was  too  strong  to  be 
held  in  check  by  physical  violence.  Disquiet  over  the 
combined  hardships  of  the  interdict  and  the  roj-al  fury 
reached  a  dangerous  pitch.  Philip  saw  that  he  was 
running  too  great  a  hazard.  Accordingly,  he  sent  liis 
messengers  to  the  Pope  to  seek  accommodation.  The 
answer  was  a  stern  injunction  to  dismiss  Agnes,  and 
to  receive  back  without  delay  the  outraged  Ingeburga. 
Philip  then  called  a  parliament  of  nobles  and  bishops 
at  Paris.  Their  verdict  was  an  echo  of  the  papal  de- 
cision. Even  the  Archbishop  of  Rheims,  who  had  pro- 
nounced the  divorce,  had  not  a  word  to  offer  in  defence 
of  his  former  act.  Being  asked  by  the  King  if  the 
Pope  had  written  truly  when  he  styled  the  sentence 
of  divorce  no  true  sentence,  but  a  mere  mockery,  he 
replied  in  the  affirmative.  "  Then,"  said  the  King, 
"  you  are  a  fool  and  a  simpleton  to  have  pronounced  the 
sentence."  ^  Thus  bereft  of  support  on  all  sides,  Philip 
bowed  to  the  bitter  requirement  that  was  laid  upon 
him,  and,  having  dismissed  Agnes,  acknowledged  Inge- 
burga as  his  wife  and  queen  (1201).  But  the  restora- 
tion was  only  a  passing  ceremony.  Philip  could  never 
overcome  his  aversion,  and  the  hapless  princess  had 
occasion  to  complain  that  she  was  rather  imprisoned 
than  restored.  As  for  Agnes,  she  soon  died  of  a  broken 
heart. 

Before  passing  from  France,  we  should  notice  a  partial 
offset  to  this  great  victory  of  Innocent.     We  give  it  in 

1  Gesta  Innocentii,  §  53. 


220  THE  MEDIJEVAL    CHURCH. 

the  words  of  Henri  Martin  :  ''  During  the  campaign  of 
1203,  the  Pope  Innocent  HI.,  perhaps  at  the  solicita- 
tion of  John,  sent  two  legates  to  summon  the  two 
kings  to  suspend  hostilities,  to  submit  their  differences 
to  the  Church,  and  to  unite  for  the  deliverance  of  the 
Holy  Land.  The  kingdom  of  France  was  menaced 
with  interdict,  and  the  King  with  excommunication,  in 
case  of  disobedience.  But  the  triumph  of  the  papacy 
in  the  matter  of  the  divorce  had  induced  Innocent  to 
presume  too  much  upon  his  power.  The  war  against 
King  John  was  popular  ;  the  hatred  against  the  assassin 
of  Arthur  was  interwoven  with  the  old  hatred  of  the 
French  and  the  Bretons  against  the  Normans,  and  eleven 
great  barons,  impelled  by  their  feelings  counter  to  their 
true  interests,  declared  by  letters  patent  that  they  would 
sustain  the  King  against  the  Pope  or  any  other  who 
should  undertake  the  defence  of  John  of  England."  ^ 

It  is  customary  to  disparage  the  victory  which  Inno- 
cent gained  over  John  of  England,  on  the  ground  that 
John  was  a  weak  and  pusillanimous  prince.  No  doubt, 
the  English  monarch  was  a  poor  specimen  of  royalty. 
The  history  of  his  reign  is  a  record  of  tyranny  and 
moral  turpitude  of  all  kinds.  But  so  far  as  his  relations 
with  the  papacy  are  concerned,  the  suggestion  of  weak- 
ness and  cowardice  comes  only  from  the  completeness 
of  his  final  collapse  before  his  antagonist.  He  met  the 
papal  censures  with  long  and  stubborn  defiance,  and 
yielded  only  when  it  seemed  to  be  certain  ruin  not  to 
yield. 

Had  Innocent  been  anxious  in  the  early  years  of  his 
pontificate  to  find  an  occasion  of  quarrel  with  John,  he 
1  Histoire  de  France,  torn.  iii.  liv.  xxii. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  221 

had  not  far  to  search.  He  who  appeared  as  the  avenger 
of  domestic  infidelity  in  France  might  have  seen  equal 
cause  to  act  the  same  part  in  Enghand ;  for  John 
sinned  against  the  nuptial  tie  even  more  scandalously 
than  Philip.  Having  divorced  his  lawful  wife,  he  con- 
tracted for  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  Portugal ;  but 
meanwhile  he  became  enamored  of  the  betrothed  of 
one  of  his  vassals,  and  in  defiance  of  decency  as  well 
as  the  obligations  of  the  feudal  relation  took  her  to  be 
his  wife.  Here  surely  was  a  ground  for  the  judge  over 
kings  and  princes  to  interfere.  No  censure,  however, 
came  from  Rome.  Perhaps  the  fact  that  England  at 
this  time  was  one  of  the  main  supports  of  Otho  in  his 
struggle  for  the  Empire  interposed  a  sort  of  mist  be- 
tween the  Pope  and  the  sins  of  the  English  monarch. 
The  real  occasion  for  quarrel  was  quite  a  different  mat- 
ter, namely,  the  manner  in  which  a  contested  election 
was  adjudicated  by  the  Pope. 

In  1205  the  see  of  Canterbury  became  vacant.  The 
monks  of  Christ  Church  in  the  metropolitan  seat,  in 
order  to  make  sure  that  their  privilege  to  choose  a  suc- 
cessor should  not  be  infringed  upon,  hastily  consum- 
mated an  election.  This  action  was  very  obnoxious  to 
the  suffragan  bishops,  who  claimed  that  a  share  in  the 
election  belonged  of  right  to  them.  Under  the  King's 
license,  a  new  choice  was  made  and  a  rival  archbishop 
set  forward.  Both  parties  appealed  to  Rome.  The 
Pope,  while  agreeing  with  the  monks  as  to  their  gen- 
eral claim,  declared  that  the  manner  of  their  choice 
made  it  no  less  invalid  than  that  of  their  opponents. 
He  therefore  set  aside  both  candidates,  and  ordered 
the  electors  to  choose  his  own  nominee,  Stephen  Lang- 


90.9 


THE  MEDLEVAL   CHURCH. 


ton.  This  was  a  very  excellent  choice  on  the  part  of 
the  Pope,  —  better  than  he  was  himself  aware  of  at  the 
time.  But  the  merits  of  Langton  were  no  recommen- 
dation to  John.  The  fact  that  his  own  nominee  had 
been  set  aside  drove  him  into  a  frenzy  of  rage.  Expos- 
tulations had  no  effect  to  bring  him  to  a  better  mind. 
Innocent  accordingly  proceeded  to  the  use  of  more 
potent  means.  In  1208  an  interdict,  like  that  which 
had  cast  its  horrifying  shadow  upon  France,  was  im- 
posed upon  England.  So  far  from  subduing  the  King, 
this  only  drove  him  to  greater  atrocities.  The  clergy 
who  presumed  to  obey  the  Pope  were  deprived  of  their 
revenues  and  denied  the  protection  of  the  law.  It  is 
reported  that  a  robber,  who  had  slain  a  priest,  was 
ordered  at  the  royal  tribunal  to  be  dismissed.  ''  He 
has  rid  me,"  said  the  King,  *'  of  one  enemy."  ^  In- 
nocent, after  allowing  the  interdict  a  proper  time  to 
manifest  its  virtue,  reinforced  it  by  sentence  of  excom- 
munication. As  this  too  proved  ineffectual,  he  brought 
out  finally  his  most  decisive  weapon.  The  obdurate 
monarch  was  declared  deposed,  his  subjects  were  re- 
leased from  their  allegiance,  and  Philip  of  France  was 
commanded  to  lead  the  crusade  by  which  he  was  to  be 
driven  from  his  throne  (1213).  Philip  began  to  gather 
his  forces.  John  on  his  side  assembled  an  immense 
force  to  withstand  the  attack ;  but  his  heart  misgave 
him  ;  he  could  not  trust  his  own  adherents.  He  deter- 
mined therefore  to  forestall  the  ambitious  project  of 
Philip,  and  to  make  such  a  submission  to  the  Pope  as 
would  turn  him  from  an  enemy  into  an  ally.  Regardless 
of  his  own  honor  and  the  honor  of  the  realm,  he  surren- 

1  Milman,  Lat.  Christ.,  book  ix.  chap.  5. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  223 

dered  crown  and  kingdom  to  the  Pope,  stipulating  that 
henceforth  he  should  hold  them,  and  his  successors  for 
all  time  should  hold  them,  in  the  relation  of  vassalage 
to  the  sovereign  pontiff.  The  surrender  was  made  in 
such  terms  as  these :  '•'•  We  wish  it  known  to  all  men, 
that  through  this  charter  bearing  our  seal,  acting  freely 
and  without  the  constraint  of  violence  or  fear,  with 
the  advice  of  our  barons,  we  offer  and  freely  concede  to 
God  and  his  holy  apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and  to  the 
holy  Roman  Church,  our  mother,  and  to  our  lord  Pope 
Innocent  and  his  Catholic  successors,  the  whole  king- 
dom of  England  and  the  whole  kingdom  of  Ireland, 
with  all  their  rights  and  belongings,  for  the  remission 
of  our  sins  and  of  our  entire  people,  as  well  the  living 
as  the  dead.  And  now,  as  a  feudatory  receiving  and 
holding  them  from  God  and  the  Roman  Church,  we 
swear  fealty  to  the  aforesaid  Pope  Innocent  and  his 
Catholic  successors,  according  to  the  subscribed  form, 
obligating  our  successors  and  heirs  by  natural  descent 
perpetually  to  show  fealty  and  to  render  homage  to  the 
existing  pontiff  and  to  the  Roman  Church.  In  evidence 
of  this  our  perpetual  offering  and  grant,  we  ordain  that 
from  the  special  revenues  of  the  aforesaid  kingdoms,  as 
a  discharge  of  the  service  which  is  due  for  them,  the 
customary  Peter's  pence  being  at  the  same  time  guar- 
anteed, the  Roman  Church  shall  receive  annually  one 
thousand  marks.  The  royal  prerogatives  and  liberties 
are  to  be  preserved  to  ourselves  and  our  heirs.  Wishing 
these  stipulations  to  be  perpetually  established,  we  bind 
ourselves  and  our  successors  not  to  transgress  them. 
And  if  any  one  of  our  successors  shall  dare  to  at- 
tempt this,  whoever  he  may  be,  unless  he  repents  after 


22-1:  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

suitable  admonition,  he  shall  lose  his  right  to  the  king- 
dom."! 

Such  was  the  price  with  which  John  purchased  the 
friendship  of  the  Pope.  A  price  greater  than  he  could 
afford!  For  while  the  sale  of  his  country's  indepen- 
dence may  not  have  been  met  with  much  of  popular 
resentment  at  the  time,  it  was  a  deed  which  the  awak- 
ening spirit  of  the  nation  was  sure  erelong  to  brand 
wdth  deepest  infamy.  However,  it  gained  him  his  im- 
mediate end.  The  Pope  declared  himself  well  pleased, 
affirmed  that  the  Holy  Spirit  alone  could  have  inspired 
such  gracious  conduct,  and  promised  that  his  legate 
should  come  as  an  angel  of  peace.^ 

Innocent  proved  to  be  a  faithful  ally  of  the  recon- 
ciled King.  In  his  forwardness  to  defend  his  vassal, 
he  did  not  shun  the  ignominy  of  patronizing  his  des- 
potism and  hurling  his  thunderbolts  against  those  who 
sought  to  restrain  his  irresponsible  rule  by  constitu- 
tional limitations.  He  characterized  the  Great  Charter, 
which  the  barons,  with  Stephen  Langton  at  their  head, 
had  constrained  the  King  to  sign,  as  "  not  only  a  vile 
and  base  agreement,  but  also  unlawful  and  iniquitous 
in  its  excessive  derogation  from  the  King's  right  and 
honor."  3  He  forbade  its  observance  under  pain  of 
anathema,  declared  it  utterly  null  and  void,  and  caused 
bulls  of  excommunication  to  be  published  against  the 
barons.*     He  also  punished    Stephen   Langton  for  his 

1  Lib.  xvi.  epist.  77. 

2  Lib.  xvi.  epist.  79,  137. 

2  "Compositionem  non  solum  vilem  et  turpem,  verum  etiam  illi- 
citam  et  iniquam,  in  nimiam  derogatlonem  ac  diminutionem  sui  juris 
pariter  ac  honoris." 

*  Eynier,  Fcedera,  i.  68-71. 

5 


THE  PAPAL   THEOCRACY.  225 

noble  and  patriotic  course  by  suspending  him  from  his 
high  office.  But  neither  the  tyrant  nor  his  supporter 
gained  any  substantial  fruit  from  these  measures.  In- 
nocent had  scored  his  last  victory  in  England.  The 
barons  were  too  deeply  conscious  of  the  justice  of  their 
cause  to  pay  any  heed  to  the  papal  fulminations,  and 
determined  to  fight  out  the  conflict  to  the  bitter  end. 
They  had  shown  no  disposition  to  yield  when,  in  1216, 
the  whole  aspect  of  the  case  was  changed  by  the  death 
of  both  Pope  and  King. 

In  dealing  with  the  kingdoms  of  the  Spanish  Penin- 
sula, Innocent  made  a  free  use  of  his  characteristic  ex- 
pedients.    Interdicts  or  threats  of   interdicts  were   of 
frequent  occurrence.     Sometimes  the  interference  was 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  prince  keep  the  peace  with 
a  neighboring  state ;  sometimes  it  was  designed  to  pre- 
vent or  to  annul  a  marriage  within  the  prohibited  de- 
grees.    On  the  latter  ground,  the  Kings  of  Leon  and 
Castile    were    unmercifully   harried,    the    one    that   he 
might  be  prevailed  upon  to  send  away  a  wife  who  had 
borne  him  children,  and  the  other  that  he  might  claim 
back  a  daughter   from  the   husband  to  whom  he  had 
given  her.     On  the  former  ground,  the  ban  was  threat- 
ened against  the  realm  and  the  person  of  the  King  of 
Navarre.     The  ruler  of  Portugal  was  also  menaced  as 
delaying  to  pay  the  stipulated  tribute,  and  being  sus- 
pected of  hostile  designs  against  Castile.     If  the  King 
of    Aragon    enjoyed    comparative    immunity,    it    was 
probably  due  to  the  fact  that  he  gratified  the  Pope 
immensely   by    surrendering    his    realm    to    him,    and 
agreeing  to  pay  yearly  a  sum  of  money  in  token  of  vas- 
salage.   Certainly,  if  Innocent  had  been  so  disposed, 


226  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

he  might  have  found  occasion  for  censure  in  a  mar- 
riage of  this  King,  —  a  marriage  far  more  obnoxious 
to  all  moral  sense  than  some  of  those  which  evoked  his 
anathemas. 

Innocent's  relation  to  the  Crusade  undertaken  in  his 
pontificate  was  not  specially  flattering  to  his  authority, 
and  illustrates  more  largely  his  enterprise  than  his  su- 
premacy. He  spared  no  pains  to  inaugurate  the  great 
expedition,  thundering  against  the  quarrels  of  princes 
which  stood  in  the  way  of  his  preparations,  taking  the 
goods  of  those  who  enlisted  under  the  special  protection 
of  the  Church,  and  holding  out  the  promise  of  plenary- 
indulgence  of  sins  to  those  who  in  person,  or  through 
one  supported  by  their  contributions,  should  add  a 
soldier  to  the  ranks  of  the  crusading  army.  The  latter 
inducement  was  set  forth  in  terms  like  these  :  "  Through 
the  compassion  of  God,  and  trusting  in  the  authority 
of  the  blessed  apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  in  virtue  of 
that  power  of  binding  and  loosing  which  God  has  con- 
ferred upon  us,  though  we  be  unworthy  of  its  exercise, 
we  grant  to  all  who  shall  undertake  the  labor  of  this 
expedition  in  their  own  persons  and  at  their  own  ex- 
pense full  indulgence  of  the  sins  for  which  they  shall 
offer  confession  of  mouth  and  contrition  of  heart,  and 
in  the  reward  of  the  just  we  promise  them  an  increase 
of  eternal  salvation.  To  those  who  shall  not  proceed 
in  person  to  the  place  of  destination,  but  shall  send , 
thither  at  their  own  expense,  in  correspondence  with 
their  means  and  rank,  suitable  men,  who  shall  abide  for 
at  least  the  space  of  two  years,  and  likewise  to  those 
who  indeed  at  another's  expense,  but  in  their  own 
persons,  shall  accomplish  the  journey,   we   grant   full 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  227 

indulgence  for  their  sins, — plenam  suorum  concedhnus 
veniam  peecatorum.^''  ^ 

After  overcoming  many  hindrances,  the  Pope  at  length 
succeeded  in  gathering  the  forces  which  were  expected 
to  overthrow  the  Mohammedan  dominion  in  the  East, 
and  give  the  Holy  Land  into  the  secure  possession  of 
the  Christians.  But  here  his  control  of  the  movement 
practically  ceased.  The  shrewd  and  grasping  Vene- 
tians proved  more  than  a  match  for  papal  authority. 
As  the  ships  of  the  Republic  were  needed  to  transport 
so  large  a  host,  Venice  was  made  the  point  of  depart- 
ure. A  price  exceeding  the  means  of  the  crusaders 
was  charged  by  the  subtle  Venetians  for  their  convey- 
ance. To  make  good  the  deficit,  they  were  required 
to  serve  the  Republic  in  the  capture  of  Zara,  a  city 
claimed  by  the  King  of  Hungary.  Thus  the  army 
destined  for  a  common  enterprise  of  Christendom  was 
made  subservient  to  private  greed.  The  fleet  sailed  to 
Zara  in  face  of  the  papal  prohibition,  and  delayed  there 
in  winter  quarters.  Equally  unavailing  were  the  Pope's 
denunciations  of  intervention  in  the  affairs  of  Constan- 
tinople. The  crusaders  listened  to  the  appeals  of  a  de- 
throned Emperor  and  his  son,  drove  out  the  usurper, 
set  up  the  claimants  whom  they  had  taken  under  their 
patronage,  and,  as  these  were  displaced  in  the  swift 
movement  of  revolution,  seized  the  government  for 
themselves,  placing  the  sceptre  in  the  hand  of  Bald- 
win, Count  of  Flanders,  and  nominating  for  the  patri- 
archal dignity  a  representative  of  the  Venetians.  This 
result  was  not  without  an  element  of  satisfaction  to  the 
Pope,  however  chagrined  he  may  have  been  at  the  suc- 

1  Lib.  i.  epist.  336, 


'2'2S  THE  MEDLEY AL    CHURCH. 

cessfiil  defiance  of  his  commands.  He  could  now  act 
as  papal  superior  over  the  proud  metropolis  of  the 
East.  He  therefore  swallowed  his  wrath,  revoked  the 
excommunication  of  the  Venetians,  and  gave  his  pro- 
tection to  the  new  kingdom.  A  gain  had  been  made 
for  the  papal  jurisdiction  :  but  it  was  only  temporary. 
The  Latin  dominion  at  Constantinople  lasted  only  abotit 
half  a  century,  and  served  rather  to  alienate  the  Greeks 
than  to  establish  a  bond  of  union  between  East  and 
West. 

A  brief  mention  may  fitly  be  made  of  Innocent's 
relations  with  the  King  of  Bulgaria.  This  prince  had 
placed  himself  and  his  realm  under  the  spiritual  juris- 
diction of  Rome.  But  the  Pope  had  occasion  to  dis- 
cover that  it  was  no  obsequious  subject  that  he  had 
won.  Heedless  of  the  remonstrances  of  Innocent,  the 
Bulgarian  King  pursued  his  own  advantage,  and  con- 
tinued to  oppose  the  Latin  rule  at  Constantinople. 

Thus  almost  every  region  felt  the  powerful  sway  of 
the  great  dictator  at  Rome.  But  at  the  same  time  in 
almost  every  region  there  was  a  measure  of  open  in- 
difference to  papal  admonitions  and  of  successful  resist- 
ance to  papal  mandates.  We  see  the  verification  of  a 
previous  remark.  —  the  proof  that  the  power  of  the 
papacy  even  at  its  culmination  was  unequal  to  its  pre- 
tensions. 

The  administration  of  Innocent  III.  marked  an  im- 
portant era  in  dealing  with  heresy.  This  pontiff  un- 
doubtedly had  a  keen  understanding  of  the  power  of 
free  thought  to  undermine  the  existing  fabric  of  the 
Church.     He    discovered   that  an   encroaching   heresv 


THE   PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  --9 

had  already  infected  considerable  districts.  To  him  it 
appeared  as  the  deadliest  of  foes,  a  heinous  crime,  a 
menace  of  anarchy  and  dissolution.  The  only  way  to 
deal  with  it,  in  his  view,  was  to  secure  its  speedy  re- 
moval either  by  converting  the  heretic  or  by  destroy- 
ing him.  He  opposed,  therefore,  an  adamantine  front 
to  every  species  of  pronounced  heterodoxy.  In  very 
few  portions  of  the  whole  field  of  history  will  one  meet 
with  the  image  of  a  more  unsparing  and  inexorable 
despotism  than  that  which  will  rise  up  before  him  as 
he  peruses  the  decrees  of  Innocent  III.  against  heretics. 
Scarcely  another  message  to  ecclesiastics  and  princes 
was  more  frequently  repeated  than  the  instruction  to 
coerce  the  heretic.  In  the  first  year  of  his  pontificate  we 
find  Innocent  enjoining  upon  the  Archbishop  of  Auch  to 
visit  the  censures  of  the  Church  upon  those  in  his  juris- 
diction who  were  guilty  of  heresy  or  of  association  with 
the  guilty,  debarring  such  from  appeals,  and  if  neces- 
sary summoning  princes  and  people  to  coerce  them  by 
the  power  of  the  temporal  sword.^  In  the  same  year 
he  instructed  the  Bishop  of  Syracuse  to  excommuni- 
cate heretics,  and  to  cause  the  magistrates  to  confiscate 
their  goods.^  The  following  year,  in  a  communication 
addressed  to  the  clergy,  the  consuls,  and  the  people  of 
Viterbo,  he  declared  that  the  abetting  of  heresy  ren- 
dered one  infamous  and  robbed  him  of  all  the  preroga- 
tives of  citizenship ;  that  in  lands  under  the  temporal 
jurisdiction  of  the  Roman  see  the  goods  of  those  found 
guilty  of  this  fault  should  be  confiscated  ;  that  in  other 
lands  the  secular  powers  should  impose  the  same  pen- 
alty, under  pain  of  being  themselves  visited  with  spir- 
1  Lib.  i.  epist.  81.  -  Lib.  i.  epist.  509. 


230        THE   MEDLEVAL   CHURCH. 

itual  censures.  In  the  same  connection  he  justified  the 
prescribed  severity  by  the  famous  a  fortiori  argument, 
so  often  used  by  persecutors,  contending  that  if  treason 
against  the  state  deserves  a  bitter  punishment,  much 
more  does  defection  from  the  faith,  which  is  treason 
against  the  Son  of  God.^  In  the  year  1200  he  wrote 
to  the  King  of  Hungary  that  a  heretic  after  one  or  two 
admonitions  was  to  be  treated  as  devoid  of  civil  rights.^ 
In  1204  he  authorized  the  King  of  France,  if  he  found 
any  of  his  knights  or  barons  affording  shelter  to  here- 
tics, to  confiscate  their  goods  and  to  add  their  terri- 
tories to  the  royal  domain.^  In  1206  he  gave  orders 
to  the  authorities  at  Faenza  to  expel  the  Poor  Men 
of  Lyons  and  the  Paterines,  confiscating  the  goods  of 
those  who  did  not  have  Catholic  heirs,  and  either  de- 
stroying their  houses  or  assigning  them  to  the  Church.* 
The  same  year  he  encouraged  the  orthodox  zeal  of  the 
King  of  Aragon  by  allowing  him  to  possess  himself  of 
the  property  of  heretics  and  their  patrons.^  In  1207 
he  delivered  a  message  to  all  the  faithful  in  the  papal 
dominions  providing  for  the  division  of  the  property 
of  heretics  among  the  different  parties  engaged  in  their 
arrest  and  punishment,  and  ordering  that  the  houses  of 
the  condemned  should  be  destroyed  to  their  foundations 
and  left  in  perpetual  ruin.^  Near  the  close  of  the  same 
year,  as  a  suitable  initiation  of  the  great  tragedy  which 
was  to  be  enacted  in  Southern  France,  he  summoned 
the  faithful  to  arms  against  the  heretics  of  that  region, 

1  Lib.  ii.  epist.  1.         2  Lib.  iii.  epist.  3.         ^  Li^.  vii.  epist  212. 

4  Lib.  ix.  epist.  18.    The  parties  referred  to  here  are  otherwise  known 
as  Waldenses  and  Cathari. 

5  Lib.  ix.  epist.  102.  ^  lj^  x.  epist.  130. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  231 

and  stimulated  their  ardor  with  the  promise  of  the  same 
rewards  which  the  crusader  was  wont  to  seek  in  the 
long  and  dangerous  march  to  the  East.  In  a  communi- 
cation addressed  to  the  King  of  France,  he  stated  the 
reward  in  these  terms  :  ''  We  wish  all  the  goods  of  the 
heretics  to  be  confiscated,  and  both  to  yourself,  either 
laboring  in  person  or  affording  necessary  aid,  and  to  the 
men  of  your  land  who  shall  take  arms  against  the  per- 
fidious,!  the  same  remission  of  sins  shall  be  vouchsafed 
as  we  have  deemed  it  proper  to  bestow  upon  those  who 
assist  in  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Land."  ^  As  if  bent 
upon  supplying  an  ample  prey  to  those  whose  bigotry 
and  lust  of  plunder  had  been  inflamed  by  his  appeals, 
Innocent  dealt  with  Raymond,  the  powerful  Count  of 
Toulouse,  as  if  he  had  forfeited  all  claim  by  his  indul- 
gence of  heresy.  He  was  not  allowed  any  reasonable 
terms  of  reconciliation,  and  his  territories  were  ad- 
judged to  the  leader  of  the  crusade,  the  brave  and  able, 
but  fierce  and  fanatical  Simon  de  Montfort.  The  war 
was  such  as  the  rapacity  and  fanaticism  of  the  assail- 
ants might  have  been  expected  to  entail.  In  truth, 
the  horrors  of  the  St.  Bartholomew  massacre  were  an- 
ticipated. At  the  sacking  of  Beziers,  in  1209,  an  in- 
discriminate fury  sacrificed  alike  Catholic  and  heretic. 
''  Slay  them  all,  God  will  know  His  own,"  was  the  com- 
mand of  the  Abbot  Arnold,  the  ecclesiastical  leader  of 
the  crusade,  as  Simon  de  Montfort  was  the  secular. 

1  The  heretics  of  Languedoc,  called  Albigenses  from  the  town  of 
Alby,  which  was  one  of  their  centres. 

2  Lib.  X.  epist.  149.  Indulgences  had  also  been  offered  in  connection 
with  the  ineffectual  crusade  wliich  was  undertaken  against  tlie  same 
heretics  in  the  time  of  Alexander  III.,  but  in  less  generous  terms. 


232  THE  MEDLEVAL   CHURCH. 

"  Never,"  says  Milman,  "  was  war  waged  in  which  am- 
bition, the  consciousness  of  strength,  rapacity,  impla- 
cable hatred,  and  pitiless  cruelty  played  a  greater  part. 
And  throughout  the  war  it  cannot  be  disguised  that  it 
was  not  merely  the  army  of  the  Church,  but  the  Church 
itself  in  arms.  Papal  legates  and  the  greatest  prelates 
headed  the  host,  and  mingled  in  all  the  horrors  of  the 
battle  and  the  siege.  In  no  instance  did  they  interfere 
to  arrest  the  massacre,  in  some  cases  urged  it  on."  ^ 

As  respects  the  beliefs  of  the  Albigenses  who  were 
subjected  to  this  exterminating  onslaught,  there  has 
been  some  variety  of  opinion.  Individual  writers,  in- 
fluenced more  or  less  by  the  desire  to  find  a  continuous 
chain  of  witnesses  against  the  Romish  apostasy,  have 
been  incHned  to  give  a  favorable  estimate  of  their  teach- 
ing. In  doing  this  they  are  compelled  to  challenge  the 
reports  of  contemporary  authorities,  and  to  rule  them 
out  as  the  misshapen  products  of  prejudice  or  malice. 
No  doubt,  some  of  these  reports  did  receive  a  false 
coloring  from  the  channel  of  ill-will  and  hatred  through 
which  they  were  delivered.  An  insufficient  regard  was 
sometimes  paid  to  gradations  of  belief  among  the  sec- 
taries. In  particular  they  were  exposed  to  calumny 
as  respects  their  moral  conduct.  While  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  assume  that  their  practice  was  uniformly  on  so 
high  a  level  as  their  austere  maxims,  and  some  room 
may  be  given  to  the  supposition  that  the  attempt  to 
maintain  a  strained  and  unhealthy  crucifixion  of  the 
flesh  reacted  disastrously  upon  individuals,  there  is  no 
reason  to  think  that  they  fell  below  the  average  stan- 
dard of  morals  in  that  age.  On  the  contrary,  an  ap- 
1  Lat.  Christ,  book  ix.  chap.  8. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  233 

pearance  of  superior  strictness  and  simplicity  of  life 
served  them  as  an  effective  means  of  influence  and 
propagandism.  But,  although  it  is  the  dictate  of  sim- 
ple justice  and  sobriety  to  qualify  some  ultra  phases 
of  the  contemporary  testimony,  it  is  a  great  perversion 
of  history  to  represent  the  Albigenses  as  true  expo- 
nents of  New  Testament  Christianity.  While  they  re- 
jected a  large  proportion  of  Romish  corruptions,  they 
introduced  the  evil  virus  of  Gnostic  and  Manichsean 
tenets.  For  the  more  fanciful  speculations  of  the  Gnos- 
tic schools  and  of  the  disciples  of  Mani  they  showed 
indeed  little  concern ;  nevertheless,  they  were  in  close 
affinity  with  their  fundamental  views  of  the  world  and 
of  man.  This  is  proved  by  a  sufficient  mass  of  docu- 
ments. Grant  that  the  documents  have  been  received 
from  the  hands  of  opponents;  they  came  from  such  a 
variety  of  conditions,  and  exhibit  so  large  a  measure  of 
agreement,  that  there  is  no  valid  ground  to  reject  the 
main  points  in  their  testimony.^ 

The  Albigenses  were  a  branch  of  the  Cathari.  As 
was  noticed  in  the  preceding  period,  the  creed  of  the 
Cathari  was  borrowed  very  largely  from  the  Paulicians 
and  the  Bogomiles,  Eastern  sects  which  mixed  their 
Christianity  with  various  Gnostic  and  Manichaian  ele- 
ments. Some  have  supposed  that  a  ground  of  accept- 
ance had  been  prepared  for  the  Eastern  importations 
by  the  secret  persistence  of  some  of  the  teachings 
which  had  been  propagated  in  the  fourth  centur}^  by 
the  Priscillianists.  However  this  may  have  been,  the 
imported  doctrines  found  a  wide  door  of  entrance.    The 

1  See  documents  collected  by  DoIIinger,  Beitriige  zur  Sektenge- 
schichte  des  Mittelalters,  Theil  ii. 


23-1  THE    MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

Cathari  became  no  inconsiderable  sect.  The  attack 
made  upon  them  in  the  early  part  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury did  not  arrest  their  progress.  They  continued  to 
win  converts  in  Italy,  France,  Germany,  and  some  of 
the  Scandinavian  countries.  In  Bosnia  their  strength 
was  not  broken  till  the  fourteenth  century.  In  all 
these  countries  the  circumstances  of  their  growth  are 
very  obscure.  No  leaders  appeared  whose  personal 
prominence  might  serve  to  illuminate  their  history. 
Some  writers,  indeed,  suppose  that  Pierre  de  Bruys 
and  Henry  of  Lausanne  —  who  obtained  in  the  twelfth 
century  a  considerable  following  in  France  known  as 
Petrobrusians  and  Henricians  —  were  genuine  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Catharist  sect.^  But  others  doubt  the 
warrant  for  this  conclusion.  In  any  case,  only  a  mod- 
erate amount  of  definite  historical  materials  is  afforded 
in  the  record  of  these  two  men.  Most  of  our  informa- 
tion respecting  the  Cathari  comes  from  the  era  of  extir- 
pation which  began  in  the  pontificate  of  Innocent  III., 

1  Dollinger  reaches  this  conclusion.  (Sektengeschichte,  i.  75-97.) 
The  most  weighty  item  in  the  evidence  is  perhaps  the  allegation,  ad- 
duced by  Peter  the  Venerable,  that  the  Petrobrusians  rejected  large  por- 
tions of  the  Biblical  Canon.  (Epist.  adv.  Petrobrusianos.)  But,  as  his 
words  indicate,  this  allegation  was  based  on  rumor,  —  an  insecure  ground 
for  deciding  respecting  the  doctrine  of  the  sect,  and  still  less  decisive 
respecting  that  of  its  founder.  The  followers  of  Pierre  de  Bruys  may 
have  been  led  by  their  antipathy  against  the  hierarchy  to  more  or 
less  of  association  with  the  Cathari,  and  to  an  ultimate  appropriation 
of  Catharist  beliefs  which  were  no  part  of  their  original  creed.  Ber- 
nard, it  is  true,  in  speaking  of  some  sectaries  of  his  time,  distinctly 
imputes  to  them  certain  Manichsean  tenets  (Sermones  in  Cantica,  Ixv., 
Ixvi.)  ;  but  so  far  is  he  from  associating  these  sectaries  with  Pierre  de 
Bruys  or  with  Henry,  that  he  places  them  in  contrast  with  other  hereti- 
cal sects  on  the  express  ground  of  their  having  no  leaders  or  prominent 
teachers  from  whom  they  might  take  their  name. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  235 

and  was  continued  through  the  agency  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion into  the  next  centuiy. 

Among  the  Cathari  distinctions  of  belief  existed  cor- 
responding very  much  to  those  between  the  Paulicians 
and  Bogomiles.i     As  respects  their  general  creed,  Rei- 
nerus,  who  says  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  sect  for 
iseventeen  years,  gives  the  following   account :    "  The 
Cathari  hold  in  common  that  the  devil  made  this  world 
and  all  things  which  are  therein.    Likewise,  that  all  the 
sacraments  of  the  Church— namely,  the  sacrament  of 
baptism  by  material  water,  and  the  other  sacraments  — 
avail  in  no  degree  for  salvation,  and  are  no  true  sacra- 
ments of   Christ   and    His  Church,  but  deceptive  and 
diabohcal,  and  pertaining  to  a  church  of  malignants. 
Likewise  it  is  the  common  opinion  of  all  the  Cathari 
that  physical  marriage  is  always  mortal  sin,  and  that 
one  does  not  earn  a  severer  punishment  in  the  future 
by  the  crime  of  incest  or  adultery  than  by  legitimate 
marriage.     Likewise  all   the  Cathari   deny  the    future 
resurrection  of  the   flesh.      They  also  believe   that  to 
eat  flesh,  eggs,   or   cheese,  even    in   a  case  of  urgent 
necessity,  is  a  mortal  sin ;  that  secular  authorities  com- 
mit   mortal  sin    in   punishing  malefactors  or  heretics; 
that  no  one  can  be  saved  except  through  themselves. 

1  Reinerus  mentions  three  sections,  the  Albanenses,  the  Concore- 
zenses,  and  the  Bagnolenses.  (Contra  Waldenses,  cap.  vi.)  The  first 
of  these  affiliated  with  the  absolute  dualism  of  the  PauUcians,  the 
second  with  the  modified  dualism  of  the  Bogomiles ;  the  third  also 
adopted  the  modified  dualism,  but  preferred  on  some  other  points  the 
special  tenets  of  the  Albanenses  to  those  of  the  Concorezenses.  Dul- 
linger  associates  the  Albigenses  with  the  strict  dualists,  who,  while  they 
were  a  minority  of  the  Cathari  in  Italy,  were  the  more  numerous  in 
other  regions. 


236  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

They  all  deny  purgatory.  It  is  also  a  common  opinion 
of  the  Cathari,  that  he  seriously  transgresses  who  kills 
any  bird  from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  or  any  quad- 
ruped from  a  weasel  to  an  elephant.  But  respecting 
other  animals  they  do  not  hold  the  like  view."  ^  To 
this  list  of  opinions  should  be  added  a  decided  repro- 
bation of  the  worship  of  images  and  saints. 

In  connection  with  the  rejection  of  the  Romish  idea 
of  purgatory,  it  may  be  observed  that  the  Cathari  pro- 
vided a  substitute  in  their  theory  that  souls  which 
have  not  been  purged  from  sin  before  the  death  of  the 
body  undergo  the  ordeal  of  transmigration.  The  strict 
dualists  believed  that  all  souls  which  have  been  created 
by  the  good  Deity  will  finally  be  saved.  They  also 
taught  the  pre-existence  of  souls.  On  these  points  the 
moderate  dualists  were  of  a  different  opinion.  The 
former  class  rejected  the  entire  Old  Testament ;  many 
in  the  latter  class  reserved  some  portions  of  it.  Some 
apocr3q:»hal  additions  to  the  New  Testament  had  place 
among  them,  such  as  a  so  called  "  Gospel  of  John," 
in  which  a  series  of  questions  propounded  by  the 
Apostle  to  Christ  are  resolved  in  a  sense  agreeable  to 
the   Cathari. 

Like  tlie  Manichseans,  the  Catharist  sect  consisted 
of  two  broadly  distinguished  divisions,  the  "perfect," 
and  the  "  simple  believers  "  or  "  hearers."  The  latter 
were  expected  to  be  received  into  the  company  of 
the  former  before  death.  Meanwhile  they  were  not 
subjected  to  the  full  measure  of  unsparing  asceticism 
which  was  incumbent  upon  the  perfect. 

1  Contra  Waldenses,  cap.  vi.,  Maxima  Bibliotheca  Veterum  Patrum, 
torn  XXV.  pp.  267,  268. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  237 

The  rite  which  had  most  significance  among  the 
Cathai-i  was  the  consolamentum.  This  was  tlie  solemn 
laying  on  of  hands,  and  was  regarded  as  the  true  spir- 
itual baptism  which  Christ  placed  in  contrast  with  that 
of  water.  The  one  who  had  received  it  was  obligated 
to  the  strict  life  of  the  perfect.  Great  emphasis  was 
laid  upon  the  necessity  of  this  rite.  As  a  substitute  for 
the  eucharist  the  Cathari  practised  a  religious  breaking 
of  bread  in  connection  with  their  ordinary  meals,  when- 
ever any  one  of  the  perfect  was  present. 

While  the  Romish  hierarchy  was  an  object  of  their 
special  detestation,  they  recognized  different  ranks  of 
ecclesiastics  among  themselves.  They  had  their  bishops, 
with  each  of  whom  were  connected  two  assistants  called 
respectively  the  "  elder  son  "  and  the  ''  younger  son." 
They  had  also  their  deacons.  Some  distinct  references 
are  found,  moreover,  to  a  supreme  head,  a  Catharist 
pope,  though  it  may  be  presumed  that  his  authority 
was  acknowledged  only  by  those  who  held  in  common 
the  stricter  dualism. 

In  view  of  the  false  ingredients  which  they  mingled 
with  their  protest  against  Romish  corruptions,  the  over- 
throw of  the  Albigenses,  or,  more  broadly  speaking, 
of  the  Cathari,  cannot  be  regretted.  In  saying  this, 
however,  we  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  qualifying  the 
infamj^  of  the  method  by  which  their  extirpation  was 
accomplished. 

The  Waldenses,  who  were  also  touched  by  the  storm 
of  persecuting  rage,  resembled  the  Albigenses  in  their 
advocacy  of  apostolic  simplicity  and  poverty,  but  were 
not,  like  them,  infected  with  the  leaven  of  Oriental 
dualism,  and   in    general  kept   within  more   moderate 


238         THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

limits  in  their  protests  against  the  Romish  system.  A 
more  specific  account  of  this  reforming  party  will  be 
given  in  the  next  period. 

The  support  which  Innocent  III.  gave  to  the  war 
against  the  Albigenses  was  not  his  last  stroke  against 
heresy.  As  if  resolved  to  lay  a  sure  foundation  against 
heretical  innovation  in  the  future,  he  published  near  the 
close  of  his  pontificate  a  definite  plan  for  its  prosecu- 
tion. At  the  Fourth  Lateran  Council,  in  1215,  he  gave 
an  ecumenical  sanction  to  a  thorough  scheme  of  repres- 
sion. In  the  article  Be  Hcereticis  it  was  ordained  that 
every  archbishop  or  bishop,  either  in  person  or  through 
suitable  agents,  should  visit  once  or  twice  a  year  any 
locality  in  his  jurisdiction  where  there  was  rumor  of 
heresy,  and  compel  three  men,  or  the  whole  community 
if  it  should  seem  expedient,  to  take  oath  that,  if  they 
had  knowledge  of  any  heretics  in  the  vicinity,  or  of 
secret  conventicles,  or  of  persons  who  in  their  life  and 
manners  held  themselves  aloof  from  the  communion 
of  the  faithful,  they  would  point  them  out.  The  ac- 
cused were  to  be  summoned,  and  if  found  guilty  to  be 
punished.  Here  was  the  germ  of  the  Inquisition.  It 
was  only  necessary  that  the  functions  assigned  to  the 
resident  bishops  should  be  confided  to  a  special  tri- 
bunal, as  they  were  by  the  second  among  Innocent's 
successors,  to  inaugurate  the  institution  which  was  to 
be  the  most  fearful  engine  of  spiritual  despotism  known 
to  the  history  of  the  Church.  In  the  same  article 
careful  provision  was  made  to  insure  the  co-operation 
of  the  temporal  ruler  in  the  extermination  of  heresy. 
He  must  rule  out  the  heretic  or  be  himself  ruled  out. 
"  If  a   temporal  lord,"   says   the  decree,  "  after  being 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  239 

summoned  and  admonished  by  the  Church,  shall  neglect 
to  purge  his  land  of  heretical  defilement,  the  metro- 
politan and  the  bishops  of  the  province  shall  bind  him 
with  the  excommunication.  If  he  refuses  to  give  satis- 
faction within  a  year,  his  case  shall  be  brought  before 
the  supreme  pontiff,  and  he  shall  declare  his  vassals 
released  from  their  allegiance,  and  shall  give  over  his 
land  to  the  occupation  of  Catholics,  who,  having  exter- 
minated the  heretics,  shall  possess  it  without  challenge 
and  preserve  it  in  purity  of  faith."  ^ 

Such  was  the  reign  of  him  who  sat  in  the  chair 
of  Peter  at  the  noonday  of  papal  power.  One  can 
scarcely  refrain  from  admiration  as  he  contemplates 
the  wonderful  scope  of  his  oversight  and  activity. 
The  record  of  his  correspondence  is  of  itself  adequate 
proof  of  his  extraordinary  executive  talent.  He  may 
be  credited  also  with  a  sincere  regard  for  the  interests 
of  Christendom.  Nevertheless  there  was  in  his  rule 
an  element  which  must  ever  be  revolting  to  a  clear 
moral  sense.  His  eager  ambition  to  magnify  on  all 
occasions  his  own  prerogatives,  and  his  warped  and 
arbitrary  decisions  in  several  of  the  great  causes  of  the 
nations,  give  an  aspect  to  his  sovereignty  which  asso- 
ciates it  rather  with  the  prince  of  this  world  than  with 
Him  who  said,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world." 

ly.  —  THE  PAPACY  FROM  INNOCENT   III.   TO 
BONIFACE   VIII. 

The  successors  of  Innocent  III.  were  by  no  means 
his  equals  in  capacity  for  rule.    Still  the  transition  from 

1  Mansi,  torn.  xxii. 


240  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

his  pontificate  does  not  mark  any  abrupt  descent  in  the 
fortunes  of  the  papacy.  There  was  no  abatement  in 
its  claims.  As  respects  actual  power,  also,  a  high  level 
was  maintained  till  the  latter  part  of  the  century. 
This  result  was  due  in  no  small  degree  to  the  agency 
of  the  mendicant  orders.  In  the  first  decades  after 
their  formation  these  orders  were  stanch  allies  of  the 
papacy.  Rapidly  pressing  into  every  quarter,  and  gain- 
ing immense  influence  with  the  people,  they  were  able 
to  make  an  ample  return  for  the  benefits  which  were 
lavished  upon  them  by  their  patron  at  Rome. 

Among  the  first  of  the  tasks  devolved  upon  the  pa- 
pacy in  this  era  was  the  completion  of  the  extermi- 
nating assault  upon  heresy  which  had  been  inaugurated 
by  Innocent  III.  Notwithstanding  the  victorious  cru- 
sade which  had  been  made  against  the  Albigenses  and 
the  formal  assignment  of  the  land  to  Simon  de  Montfort, 
the  work  of  extirpation  and  subjugation  still  awaited 
a  final  stage.  The  expelled  Count  of  Toulouse  and 
his  son,  known  afterwards  as  Raymond  VII.,  reappear 
upon  the  scene.  The  strong  attachment  of  the  people 
secures  them  ready  assistance.  De  Montfort  falls  in 
the  conflict,  and  the  house  of  Raymond  comes  again 
into  the  ascendant.  But  the  hard-earned  victory  is  not 
long  enjoyed.  The  French  throne  supported  by  the 
papacy  compels  Raymond  VII.  to  the  sacrifice  of  much 
territory,  reduces  him  from  the  comparative  indepen- 
dence asserted  by  his  ancestors  to  a  position  of  strict 
vassalage,  and  binds  him  to  the  uprooting  of  heresy  in 
his  domains.  To  insure  the  fulfilment  of  this  requisi- 
tion, the  Council  of  Toulouse  in  1229  published  an  elab- 
orate plan  of  inquisition.    Among  the  demands  imposed 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  241 

were  the  following.  Archbishops  and  bishops  must  ap- 
point in  every  parish  a  priest  and  two  or  more  laymen, 
and  require  them  under  oath  to  make  a  minute  search 
for  heretics,  penetrating  into  every  suspected  quarter 
and  possible  lurking  place,  and  bringing  both  the  viola- 
tors of  the  orthodox  faith  and  their  patrons  to  judg- 
ment. If  any  one  tolerates  heresy  upon  his  domain,  he 
is  to  lose  his  land  forever,  and  his  body  shall  be  in 
the  power  of  his  lord,  to  be  dealt  with  as  may  be  fit- 
ting. A  house  which  shelters  a  heretic  is  to  be  de- 
stroyed and  its  site  confiscated.  A  bailiff  who  neglects 
to  make  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  heretics  in  the  region 
where  he  resides  is  to  lose  his  goods,  and  no  more  to 
exercise  his  office,  either  there  or  elsewhere.  Heretics 
who  return  to  the  Church  of  their  own  free  will  are  to 
be  located  in  a  Catholic  community,  and  to  wear  a  cross 
upon  each  shoulder  as  a  penance  for  their  former  un- 
faithfulness, while  those  who  seek  reconciliation  with 
the  Church  under  constraint,  moved  by  fear  of  death 
or  similar  cause,  shall  be  so  incarcerated  that  they  shall 
not  have  opportunity  to  corrupt  others.  The  names 
of  all  males  above  fourteen  years  of  age  and  of  all 
females  above  twelve  shall  be  put  on  record,  and  every 
two  years  they  must  take  oath  to  keep  the  Catholic  faith 
and  to  oppose  heretics  to  the  extent  of  their  ability. 

By  the  same  council  the  laity  were  forbidden  to  have 
the  Scriptures,  with  the  exception  of  the  Psalter  and 
such  passages  as  were  contained  in  the  authorized  ritual; 
and  this  much  they  must  on  no  account  possess  in  the 
vernacular.  The  language  of  the  decree  is  as  follows : 
^'  Prohibemus  etiam,  ne  libros  veteris  testamenti  aut 
novi,  laid  permittantur  habere:  nisi  forte   psalterium, 

16 


242  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH, 

vel  breviarium  pro  Divinis  officiis,  aut  horas  beatse 
Marise  aliquis  ex  devotione  habere  velit.  Sed  ne  prae- 
missos  libros  habeaDt  in  vulgari  translates,  arctissime 
inhibemus."  ^ 

Before  the  meeting  of  the  Council  of  Toulouse  and 
the  settlement  of  affairs  in  Southern  France  the  papacy 
had  embarked  upon  one  of  its  most  noteworthy  con- 
flicts, —  the  last  great  struggle  with  the  Empire  as  rep- 
resented by  the  Hohenstaufen  family.  This  struggle, 
while  it  had  its  special  occasions,  was  the  natural  pro- 
duct of  the  essential  rivalry  between  Pope  and  Em- 
peror. By  virtue  of  their  position  they  were  rivals. 
Theocratic  rule  as  it  was  conceived  by  the  Pope,  and 
imperial  rule  as  it  was  conceived  by  an  Emperor  of 
high  spirit  and  ambition,  could  not  well  be  reconciled. 

Frederic  II.  was  not  a  sovereign  who  coveted  a  quar- 
rel with  the  spiritual  power.  He  was  not  recklessly 
bent  upon  a  policy  of  aggression.  In  disposition  he 
was  probably  more  placable  than  Frederic  Barbarossa, 
certainly  more  placable  than  Henry  VI.  But  at  the 
same  time  he  was  ready  to  maintain  all  the  rights  which 
he  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  Empire,  and  in  doing  so 
he  was  trammelled  by  no  superstitious  awe.  A  patron 
of  literature,  having  much  of  the  spirit  of  the  humanist, 
he  was  disposed  to  a  freedom  of  thought  which  indeed 
stopped  short  of  positive  infidelity,  but  was  also  remote 
from  blind  reverence.  He  was  able  to  estimate  the 
papacy  at  its  worth,  and,  finding  it  to  be  a  grasping 
earthly  power,  to  deal  with  its  censures  as  simply  the 
arts  of  an  unscrupulous  rival. 

1  Mansi,  torn,  xxiii.  Compare  Synod  of  Tarragona  in  1233,  and  of 
IJeziers  in  1246. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  243 

The  first  occasion  of  rupture  was  the  delay  of  Fred- 
eric to  embark  upon  a  crusade.  Yielding  to  the  urgent 
solicitations  of  Honoring  III.,  he  had  not  only  agreed  to 
lead  such  a  project,  but  bound  himself  to  depart  by  a 
certain  date,  namely,  August,  1227.  He  kept  his  word 
so  far  as  to  embark  about  the  appointed  time.  But 
the  extreme  heat  of  the  season  engendered  sickness, 
and,  on  the  plea  that  a  due  regard  to  his  health  re- 
quired it,  Frederic  returned  again  to  land.  Very  likely 
his  excuse  would  have  been  entertained,  and  a  time 
of  grace  allowed  him,  if  his  case  had  been  in  the 
hands  of  Honorius.  But  this  moderate  pontiff  had 
been  succeeded  by  one  as  captious  and  assertatory  as 
he  was  energetic,  the  indomitable  old  man  who  took 
the  name  of  Gregory  IX.  As  if  it  were  a  thing  too 
certain  to  be  inquired  into,  he  pronounced  Frederic's 
excuses  mere  pretences,  and  launched  against  him  the 
excommunication.  The  next  year,  as  the  Emperor 
again  embarked,  he  inhibited  his  departure,  and  sent 
messengers  before  him  into  the  Holy  Land,  who  should 
there  publish  his  excommunication  and  forbid  all  Chris- 
tians to  render  him  any  service  or  recognition.  When, 
in  spite  of  such  an  introduction,  Frederic  had  concluded 
an  advantageous  treaty,  by  which  it  was  stipulated  that 
Jerusalem  should  be  given  into  Christian  possession,  he 
denounced  the  treaty  as  a  monstrous  attempt  to  recon- 
cile Christ  and  Belial.  Meanwhile  he  attempted  to  stir 
up  the  adversaries  of  Frederic  at  home,  and  zealously 
forwarded  a  movement  to  seize  upon  his  territories  in 
Italy.  The  Emperor  on  his  side  gave  no  further  heed 
to  papal  censures  and  accusations  than  to  make  his  ap- 
peal to  the  judgment  of  Europe.     He  contemned  alike 


244  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

the  anathemas  and  the  prohibitions  of  Gregory.  Hav- 
ing satisfied  his  ambition  in  the  East  by  placing  the 
crown  of  Jerusalem  upon  his  head,  he  suddenly  re- 
turned to  Italy.  An  easy  victory  over  the  papal  forces 
followed,  and,  after  all  his  outpouring  of  fury,  Gregory 
was  constrained  to  a  reconciliation  (1230). 

Nine  years  of  peace  ensued,  when  a  conflict  more 
envenomed  than  ever  was  begun.  The  victories  of 
Frederic  over  the  Guelfic  cities  of  Lombardy,  which 
he  undertook  to  chastise  for  their  complicity  in  a  re- 
bellion against  him  in  Germany,  were  regarded  as  im- 
perilling the  papal  interests.  Gregory  therefore  flew  to 
his  customary  weapons,  pronounced  Frederic  excom- 
municated, released  his  subjects  from  their  allegiance, 
declared  any  place  in  which  he  might  reside  under  in- 
terdict and  any  ecclesiastic  who  should  dare  to  minister 
to  him  the  rites  of  the  Church  degraded  from  his  office, 
and  sought  for  a  prince  who  might  have  the  courage 
to  strive  for  his  crown.  Forgetting  the  claims  of  dig- 
nity in  the  excess  of  passion,  he  launched  out  into  un- 
measured charges,  berating  Frederic  as  an  infidel  and 
blasphemer,  a  man  who  had  not  shunned  to  declare 
that  Christ,  Moses,  and  Mahomet  were  three  impostors 
by  whom  the  world  had  been  deceived,  and  that  only 
simpletons  could  believe  that  it  was  possible  for  God  to 
be  born  of  a  virgin.^  As  Frederic  answered  philippic 
with  philippic,  a  war  on  paper  proceeded  alongside  the 
sterner  conflict  of  armies. 

The  death  of  Gregory  in  1241  rather  interrupted 
than  ended  the  struggle.  Innocent  IV.  after  a  brief 
truce,  renewed  the  quarrel  with  an  ardor  scarcely  in- 

1  Matthew  Paris,  sub  anno  1239. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  245 

ferior  to  the  unscrupulous  zeal  of  his  predecessor.  Eu- 
rope was  ransacked  for  money  to  fill  the  papal  treasury, 
and  for  a  prince  to  stand  as  claimant  for  Frederic's 
crown.  To  the  honor  of  the  European  powers  the 
claimants  were  not  easy  to  discover  and  when  discov- 
ered were  feebly  sustained.^  But  in  the  Italian  cities 
the  Pope  had  strong  allies.  During  the  war  against 
these  the  Emperor  was  overtaken  by  heavy  calamities, 
such  as  the  capture  of  a  favorite  son  and  a  defeat  at 
Parma.  Under  the  shadow  of  these  reverses  he  died, 
in  1250.2  As  already  stated,  no  successor  was  left 
equal  to  sustaining  the  claims  of  his  house.  His  de- 
scendants were  soon  cut  off.  The  Papacy  triumphed 
over  the  Empire. 

The  triumph  of  the  papacy,  however,  was  more  ap- 
parent than  real,  at  least  as  respects  its  position  in 
Christendom  at  large.  The  victory  was  purchased  at 
a  cost  which  gave  it  very  much  the  character  of  a 
defeat.  In  the  first  place,  the  unchristian  hardness  and 
ferocity  of  Gregory  IX.  and  Innocent  IV.  caused  a 
revulsion  of  feeling  in  many  breasts.  Faithful  sons  of 
the  Church,  like  Louis  IX.  of  France,  openly  declared 
their  horror  of  the  papal  violence  and  implacability. 
As  Gregory  IX.  sent  word  to  France  that  he  had 
awarded  Frederic's  crown  to  Robert,  the  brother  of  the 
King,  the  reply  came  back  in  these  words  of  stinging 
rebuke :  "  What  presumptuous  daring  is  this,  that  the 

1  Henry  of  Thuringia,  who  early  suffered  defeat  and  death,  was  fol- 
lowed by  William  of  Holland. 

2  The  Pope  thought  it  fitting  to  announce  the  death  of  his  great  an- 
tagonist  in  such  words  of  exultation  as  these :  "Laetantur  coeli,  et  exultet 
terra  !  "     (Raynaldus,  sub  anno  1251,  n.  3.) 


246  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

Pope  should  presume  to  disinherit  and  to  cast  down 
from  the  height  of  the  imperial  dignity  a  prince  who 
has  no  superior,  or  even  equal,  among  Christians,  and 
that  too  before  he  has  been  convicted  of  the  crimes 
charged  against  him  or  made  confession  thereof.  Even 
if  he  deserved  to  be  deposed,  the  sentence  should  not 
be  passed  without  the  approbation  of  a  general  council. 
As  respects  the  transgressions  with  which  he  is  charged, 
faith  ought  not  to  be  reposed  in  the  word  of  his  enemies, 
of  whom  the  Pope  is  the  most  deadly.  To  us  he  has 
given  no  grounds  of  accusation,  yea,  has  been  a  good 
neighbor,  nor  have  we  seen  any  reason  for  challenging 
his  fidelity  in  worldly  relations  or  his  Catholic  faith. 
This  we  know,  that  he  has  fought  loyally  for  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  exposing  himself  resolutely  to  the  perils 
of  the  sea  and  the  hazards  of  battle.  So  much  religion 
we  have  not  yet  found  in  the  Pope."  ^ 

Again  people,  princes,  and  ecclesiastics  were  alienated 
by  the  enormous  exactions  of  the  Popes.  Nothing  is 
more  prominent  in  the  narratives  of  Matthew  Paris 
for  this  era  than  the  sense  of  torture  which  was  caused 
by  the  unbounded  demands  of  Rome.  A  significant  in- 
dex of  this  feeling  is  seen  in  the  way  in  which  the  peo- 
ple discussed  the  Pope's  charges  against  Frederic  II., 
particularly  the  accusation  of  heresy  and  blasphemy. 
They  were  inclined  to  doubt  the  charges,  and  declared 
it  an  item  in  favor  of  the  Emperor  that  he  had  not  let 
loose  upon  them  a  band  of  usurers  and  extortioners.^ 
England  in  particular  had  reason  to  complain  of  the 
papal  exactions.  The  Popes  dealt  with  the  country  as 
the  avarice  of  ancient  Rome  claimed  the  right  to  deal 
1  Matthew  Paris,  sub  anno  1239.  2  ii^j^. 


THE  PAPAL   THEOCRACY.  247 

with  a  conquered  province.  It  has  been  estimated  that 
during  a  few  years  the  agents  of  Gregory  IX.  at  Lon- 
don plundered  the  realm  of  a  sum  equivalent  to  fifteen 
millions  sterling  at  the  present  rate.^  No  wonder  that 
there  were  bitter  comments,  and  instances  in  which  the 
exactors  were  exposed  to  personal  violence. 

In  another  respect,  also,  the  papacy  was  injured  by  its 
own  representatives.  To  shut  out  the  heirs  of  Fred- 
eric II.  from  the  kingdom  of  Naples  and  Sicily,  the 
crown  of  this  realm  was  awarded  to  Charles  of  Anjou, 
a  man  of  grasping  and  unprincipled  ambition.  Thus 
a  foothold  was  given  to  that  ascendency  of  French  poli- 
tics which  speedily  brought  the  papacy  into  abject  sub- 
serviency to  the  French  throne.  In  1281  the  arts  of 
Charles  of  Anjou  secured  the  election  of  a  French 
Pope.  "From  this  time  forward,"  says  Alzog,  "French 
patronage,  politics,  and  tyranny  inflicted  deeper  wounds 
upon  the  papal  dignity  than  had  ever  been  inflicted  by 
the  spiteful  enmity  of  the  Hohenstaufen  Emperors."  ^ 
At  an  earlier  date,  if  the  record  may  be  trusted,  a 
prince  of  entirely  different  spirit  from  Charles  of  Anjou, 
the  sainted  Louis  IX.,  had  laid  a  foundation  for  the 
rights  of  the  national  Church  in  the  contest  with  Roman 
centralization.  In  the  so  called  Pragmatic  Sanction  the 
privilege  of  the  Pope  to  make  levies  upon  property  in 
the  realm  was  declared  dependent  upon  the  consent 
of  the  King  and  Church  of  France,  and  the  rights  of 
local  parties  in  filling  vacant  offices,  as  opposed  to  papal 
interference,  were  guaranteed.  The  genuineness  of 
this  document  has   been    denied,  but  it  is  quoted  by 

1  Hallam,  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

2  Kirchengeschichte,  §  225. 


248  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

very  eminent  historians  as  a  part  of  the  national  legis- 
lation under  Louis  IX. 

Still  another  cause  of  decline,  which  assailed  the  pa- 
pacy through  the  indiscretion  and  greed  of  its  repre- 
sentatives, may  be  adduced.  We  refer  to  the  nepotism 
which  turned  the  attention  of  Popes  from  wider  pro- 
jects to  the  task  of  advancing  their  relatives  in  worldly 
power,  honors,  and  riches.  Nicolas  III.  (1277-1280) 
gave  a  conspicuous  example  of  this  practice,  whose 
overgrown  excess  in  subsequent  times  was  to  be  one 
of  the  most  repellent  features  of  the  papacy. 

V. — VARIOUS  FEATURES   OF   CHURCH   CONSTITUTION. 

As  the  preceding  history  has  indicated,  it  continued 
to  be  a  wavering  line  which  ran  between  the  provinces 
of  Church  and  State.  While  there  was  a  general  ad- 
vantage on  the  side  of  the  Church,  the  State  still  found 
means  to  gratify  in  a  measure  its  appetite  for  control 
over  ecclesiastical  offices  and  revenues.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  powerful  efforts  of  the  Popes,  secular  interfer- 
ence in  episcopal  elections  was  but  slowly  relinquished. 
During  the  twelfth  century  it  was  no  uncommon  thing 
in  Sicily,  Hungary,  Denmark,  and  Sweden  for  kings 
to  nominate  bishops.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  as  a 
partial  compensation  for  the  surrender  of  their  share 
in  the  appointment  of  bishops,  sovereigns  acquired  the 
"  right  of  first  prayers,"  jus  primarum  'precum^  which 
gave  them  a  claim  to  one  piece  of  patronage  from  every 
new  bishop  or  abbot.  As  ways  of  getting  their  hands 
into  the  ecclesiastical  treasury,  they  applied  the  jus  rega- 
licB  and  the  jus  spolii  or  jus  exuviarum.     Both  of  these 


THE   PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  249 

were  well  established  on  the  Continent  in  the  twelfth 
century,  and  at  the  close  of  the  preceding  century 
were  greatly  abused  in  England  by  William  Rufus. 
The  former  was  based  upon  the  feudal  principle  that  a 
vacant  fief  reverts  to  its  lord.  In  the  application  of  this 
principle,  sovereigns  were  able  to  enjoy  the  revenues 
of  vacant  sees  and  of  monasteries  waiting  for  the  elec- 
tion of  an  abbot.  They^s  exuviarum  concerned  the  fur- 
niture and  other  property  of  deceased  bishops.  This 
claim  seems  primarily  to  have  been  based  on  services 
rendered  in  the  way  of  protection.  Having  defended 
the  goods  of  the  dead  officials  against  the  greed  of 
lawless  nobles,  sovereigns  began  to  think  themselves 
entitled  to  a  share  in  such  property.  Besides  asserting 
claims  of  this  character,  temporal  rulers  sometimes  im- 
posed heavy  taxes  upon  the  clergy.^ 

The  exclusion  of  the  secular  power  from  the  appoint- 
ment of  bishops  was  not  wholly  in  the  interest  of  free 
elections.  What  the  Popes  took  away  from  the  sover- 
eign they  were  disposed  to  arrogate  to  themselves.  Not 
only  did  they  exercise  the  right  to  confirm  bishops,  but 
also  in  many  instances  to  nominate.  Thus,  in  the  course 
of  the  thirteenth  century,  they  filled  with  their  own 
nominees  five  out  of  seven  vacancies  in  the  see  of  Can- 
terbury. 

A  class  of  bishops  still  more  distinctly  the  clients  of 
the  Pope  than  these  appointees  came  into  existence  by 
reason  of  the  downfall  of  Christian  rule  in  the  East. 
Expelled  from  their  sees  by  the  Mohammedans,  various 
bishops  received  hospitality  in  the  West.    As  they  died, 

1  Gieseler,  Kirehengeschichte,  §  63;  Robertson,  Church  History, 
books   vi.,  vii. 


250  THE  MEDIjEVAL   CHURCH. 

the  Pope,  in  order  to  keep  up  the  semblance  of  a  Chris- 
tian claim  to  the  conquered  territory,  passed  over  their 
titles  to  others,  who  were  appointed  as  their  successors. 
Thus  was  conserved  a  class  of  titular  bishops,  known 
as  episcopi  iii  partibus  infidelium. 

The  Popes  were  also  disposed  to  extend  their  patron- 
age to  other  offices.  Bishops  in  the  outlying  coun- 
tries were  expected  to  provide  places  for  a  crowd  of 
hungry  Italians.  Three  hundred  was  the  modest  con- 
tingent which  Gregory  IX.  in  1240  asked  some  English 
bishops  to  supply  with  benefices.  Closely  linked  with 
this  zeal  for  patronage,  as  has  been  observed,  was  the 
zeal  for  revenue.  A  conspicuous  exhibition  of  the  lat- 
ter was  the  request  of  Honorius  III.  and  Innocent  IV. 
that  the  income  of  certain  prebends  in  each  cathedral 
or  monastic  church  (in  France  and  England)  should  be 
set  apart  for  the  Roman  curia.  As  the  papal  exactions 
had  already  become  an  enormous  scandal,  such  a  re- 
quest naturally  was  not  met  in  any  spirit  of  amiable 
compliance. 

Endeavors  were  made  to  limit  the  prerogative  of  the 
secular  power  to  tax  the  clergy.  Alexander  III.  set 
forth  the  principle,  that  payments  for  civil  purposes, 
other  than  those  founded  upon  the  feudal  relation, 
should  depend  upon  the  free  will  of  the  clergy.  The 
Lateran  Council  under  Innocent  III.  (can.  46)  added 
as  a  further  condition  of  such  payments  the  permit  of 
the  Pope. 

The  principle  of  clerical  immunities,  so  emphatically 
asserted  by  Beeket,  continued  to  be  maintained  by  the 
Church  with  a  good  degree  of  tenacity,  and  sometimes 
was  guaranteed  by  sovereigns,  as  by  Frederic  II.  at  the 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY,  251 

time  of  his  coronation  at  Rome.^  In  practice,  however 
the  principle  was  not  always  observed  by  sovereigns, 
and  their  just  complaints  moved  the  ecclesiastical  au- 
thorities, if  not  to  modify  the  immunities,  at  least  to 
sharpen  the  penalties  against  clerical  offenders.  Thus 
Innocent  III.  instructed  the  prelates  to  hold  in  strict 
custody  such  of  their  clergy  as  were  proved  guilty  of 
crimes.  He  also  forbade  them  to  secure  from  the  grasp 
of  the  secular  authorities  such  as  had  been  degraded 
from  their  orders.  At  a  council  held  under  the  Eng- 
lish primate  in  1261  it  was  ordained  that  a  crime  which 
would  make  a  layman  liable  to  a  capital  sentence  should 
entail  life-long  imprisonment  upon  a  member  of  the 
clergy.  Fourteen  years  later  the  first  Statute  of  West- 
minster provided  that,  while  the  person  of  a  clerk  ac- 
cused of  felony  should  be  given  over  at  the  demand 
of  the  spiritual  authority,  the  secular  judge  should  in- 
vestigate the  case,  and,  if  guilt  were  proved,  the  King 
should  confiscate  the  property  of  the  culprit. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  Church  claimed  judgment 
over  its  own  servants,  it  was  disposed  to  extend  its 
jurisdiction  over  outside  parties.  Various  matters  which 
belonged  properly  to  the  civil  tribunal  were  drawn  into 
the  ecclesiastical  courts.  An  opportunity  for  encroach- 
ment in  this  direction  was  supphed  by  the  Crusades,  it 
being  established  that  a  crusader  accused  of  crime  was 
not  to  be  held  by  the  temporal  magistrate,  but  to  answer 
at  the  bar  of  the  spiritual  authority .2 

The  legislation  indicates  the  prevalence  in  the  cler- 
ical body  of  the  same  order  of  abuses  that  had  place 

1  Hefele,  §  649. 

2  So  ordained  the  Synod  of  Tours,  1236,  can.  1. 


252  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

in  the  preceding  period.  Canons  were  issued  from  time 
to  time  against  the  practice  of  arms,^  against  luxurious 
and  frivolous  habits,^  against  pluralities,  against  simony, 
against  the  appointment  of  boys  to  benefices  connected 
with  the  cure  of  souls,  against  ordinations  at  large, 
against  exacting  payment  for  the  administration  of  the 
sacraments.  But  the  most  notorious  irregularity  was  the 
wide-spread  and  persistent  violation  of  the  rule  enjoin- 
ing celibacy.  The  policy  of  Gregory  VII.  was  in  gen- 
eral pursued  by  the  Popes,  and  some  severe  enactments 
were  directed  against  the  offending  clergy.  Thus  Ur- 
ban II.,  through  the  Council  of  Amalfi,  in  1089,  decreed 
that  liberty  should  be  given  the  secular  power  to  seize 
the  wives  of  the  clergy  and  to  reduce  them  to  slavery. 
But  it  was  found  to  be  much  easier  to  pass  decrees  on 
this  subject  than  to  execute  them.  So  the  authorities 
themselves  apprehended,  and  it  was  with  varying  energy 
that  they  pressed  their  demands  in  different  quarters. 
In  the  border  countries  there  was  no  earnest  attempt  to 
enforce  celibacy  till  the  latter  part  of  the  period.  Down 
to  the  thirteenth  century  marriage  of  the  clergy  was 
the  prevailing  custom  in  Hungary,  Bohemia,  Poland, 
Denmark,  and  Sweden.  In  Wales  the  like  custom  was 
scarcely  eradicated  before  the  Reformation  of  the  six- 
teenth century  gained  for  it  the  sanction  of  law.     In 

1  The  warlike  propensities  of  the  bishops  gave  signal  occasion  for 
such  legislation.  "  The  chroniclers  describe  with  a  mixture  of  admira- 
tion and  reprobation  the  exploits  of  such  prelates  as  Christian  of  Mentz, 
who  appeared  in  full  armor  at  the  head  of  armies,  and,  after  having  in 
one  battle  slain  nine  men  with  his  spiked  club,  arrayed  himself  on  the 
following  day  in  pontificals,  and  solemnly  celebrated  a  mass  of  thanks- 
givins:  for  the  victory  "     (Robertson,  book  vi.) 

-  See,  as  an  example,  canon  17  of  the  Fourth  Lateran  Council. 


TEE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  253 

England  marriage  of  the  clergy  was  of  frequent  occur- 
rence till  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century.  An 
equal  or  greater  departure  from  the  rule  of  celibacy  had 
place  in  Spain  to  a  still  later  date  ;  indeed,  in  no  land 
equally  accessible  to  Roman  authority  was  the  crusade 
against  clerical  marriage  carried  on  more  feebly  than  in 
Spain.  In  various  countries  it  was  necessary  to  give 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  sons  of  the  clergy  were 
being  obtruded  into  benefices,  and  that  sacred  positions 
were  being  made  hereditary. ^  Where  the  efforts  of  the 
hierarchy  were  successful  in  checking  the  practice  of 
marriage,  they  were  far  from  abolishing  that  of  concu- 
binage ;  in  truth,  limitation  in  one  direction  was  apt  to 
be  avenged  by  license  in  the  other.  In  some  instances 
bishops  condoned  for  a  price  the  unhallowed  substitute 
for  nuptials,  —  a  shameless  traffic  in  fornication  which 
was  not  fully  abrogated  before  the  sixteenth  century .^ 
The  infection  of  this  license  reinforced,  of  course,  the 
ordinary  tendencies  to  corruption  within  the  monastic 
institute. 

A  sufficient  illustration  has  been  given  in  the  preced- 
ing sections  of  the  way  in  which  spiritual  censures  were 
employed  by  the  Popes  to  exact  obedience.  Indica- 
tions are  not  wanting  that  the  excommunication  was 
sometimes  ineffectual  against  lesser  culprits,  as  well  as 
against  sovereigns.  We  find  synods  ordaining  that 
those  who  had  been  excommunicated  a  year  should  be 
compelled  by  the  secular  power  to  seek  reconciliation 
with  the  Church.3 

1  See  Councils  of  Gerundum  in  1078,  Amalfi  in  1089,  Clermont  in 
1095,  Epist.  (v,  66,  G7)  of  Innocent  III.  in  1202. 

2  See  Lea,  Sacerdotal  Celibacy,  chaps,  xvi.,  xvii. 

'  So  the  Synod  of  Tarragona  in  1233,  and  that  of  Paris  in  1248. 


254  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

One  of  the  most  important  regulations  in  the  sphere 
of  discipline  which  the  period  witnessed  was  that  im- 
posed by  the  twenty-first  canon  of  the  Fourth  Lateran 
Council  (1215),  by  which  auricular  confession  to  a 
priest  once  a  year  was  made  obligatory  upon  all  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  having  reached  j^ears  of  discretion. 
Before  the  end  of  the  century  the  full  scholastic  theory 
was  installed,  according  to  which  the  absolution  pro- 
nounced upon  the  penitent  by  the  priest  is  a  judicial 
act,  a  means  of  setting  free  from  sins,  and  not  merely 
declaratory  of  the  divine  forgiveness.  Thomas  Aquinas 
took  this  position,  and  taught,  in  conformity  therewith, 
that  the  proper  formula  of  absolution  is,  "I  absolve 
thee."  Thus  finally  priestly  pretence  reached  its  cli- 
max, reconciliation  with  the  Church  was  confounded 
with  reconciliation  with  God,  and  a  sinful  mortal  un- 
dertook the  solemn  farce  of  exercising  the  prerogatives 
of  Omniscient  Deity.  It  only  remained  for  the  Coun- 
cil of  Trent  to  stamp  as  dogma  what  scholasticism  had 
enthroned. 

In  connection  with  the  preceding  periods,  adequate 
evidence  has  been  given  that  it  was  onl}^  very  gradually 
that  the  absolving  declaration  of  the  priest  came  to  be 
distinctly  regarded  as  a  judicial  sentence,  that  is,  for 
anything  more  than  the  penitent's  ecclesiastical  rela- 
tion. Additional  evidence  of  the  same  fact  may  be 
found  in  the  present  period.  Writers  of  the  twelfth 
century  as  prominent  as  Peter  Lombard  and  Robert 
PuUus  took  the  ground  that  the  absolution  by  the 
priest  is  merely  declaratory, —  a  showing  forth,  in  the 
sphere  of  the  Church,  of  what  God  has  accomplished 
or  may  be  presumed  to  have  accomplished.     Speaking 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  255 

of  God's  agency,  the  former  says ;  "  He  Himself  alone 
through  Himself  remits  sin,  who  also  purifies  the  soul 
from  interior  stain,  and  releases  from  the  debt  of  eter- 
nal death.  But  He  has  not  conceded  this  to  the  priests, 
to  whom,  nevertheless,  He  has  assigned  the  power  of 
loosing  and  binding,  that  is,  of  showing  men  bound  or 
loosed."  1  The  same  limitation  appears  in  the  words 
of  Pullus :  "  The  priest  absolves  from  sins,  not  in  the 
sense  that  he  remits  them,  but  that  he  discloses  their 
remission  through  the  sacrament.  And  what  is  this 
work  of  disclosing  except  a  means  of  affording  con- 
solation to  the  penitent  ?  "  ^  A  like  view  appears  at 
the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century  with  William, 
Bishop  of  Paris.  He  says ;  "  The  confessor  does  not, 
like  the  judges  of  the  civil  courts,  pronounce  the  words, 
'  We  absolve  thee,  we  do  not  condemn,'  but  rather 
makes  a  prayer  over  the  penitent  that  God  may  grant 
him  absolution."  ^  Some  of  the  contemporaries  of  these 
writers,  however,  had  already  approached  the  theory 
of  absolution  which  is  found  with  Aquinas. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  doctrine  of  sacramental 
absolution  was  completed,  a  theoretical  basis  was  sup- 
plied to  the  current  practice  of  abridging  or  cancelling 
satisfaction  for  sins  by  virtue  of  indulgences.  This 
was  obtained  in  the  notion  that  the  supererogatory 
merits  of  the  saints,  as  well  as  those  of  Christ,  make  a 
great  treasure,  which  is  at  the  disposition  of  the  Church, 
or,  more  specifically,  of  the  Pope  as  the  head  of  the 

1  Sent.  iv.  18.  5,  6.  2  Sent.  vi.  61. 

3  "Neque  more  judicum  forensium  pronunciat  confessor:  'Absolve- 
mus  te,  non  conderanamus ';  sed  magis  orationem  facit  super  eum  ut 
Deus  absolutionem  .  .  .  tribuat."  (Quoted  by  ifetienne  Chastel,  His- 
toire  du  Christianisme,  iii.  854.) 


256  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

Church.  This  treasure,  it  was  conceived,  could  be 
used  to  cancel,  in  whole  or  in  part,  the  temporal  penalty 
or  satisfaction  which  was  regarded  as  still  due  for  sins 
after  the  eternal  penalty  had  been  removed  by  penitence, 
confession,  and  absolution.  Such  an  application  of  the 
supposed  treasure  was  called  an  indulgence.  In  the 
view  of  the  better  informed,  therefore,  an  indulgence 
was  not  in  the  full  sense  a  remission  of  sin.  At  the 
same  time,  it  was  accounted  something  more  than  the 
remission  of  a  mere  ecclesiastical  penance  imposed  sim- 
ply for  discipline  ;  it  was  regarded  as  a  remission  of 
the  penalty  or  satisfaction  still  due  in  divine  justice^ 
after  the  guilt  of  sin  and  the  larger,  or  eternal,  penalty 
have  been  cancelled.^  At  the  best,  therefore,  the 
theory  of  indulgences  had  this  obnoxious  element,  that 
it  enthroned  human  discretion,  the  discretion  or  caprice, 
perchance,  of  one  of  the  vilest  of  men,  over  the  claims 
of  Divine  justice.^  But  this  was  only  a  part  of  the  evil 
which  came  into  the  Church  at  this  door.  The  limita- 
tions which  had  place  in  the  scholastic  theory  were  very 
imperfectly  apprehended.  Many  of  the  people  looked 
upon  indulgences  as  practically  a  means  of  escaping 
all  the  consequences  of  their  sins,  and  their  superi- 
ors did  not  use  adequate  caution  to  guard  against  the 
misconception.  The  result  was,  of  course,  the  serious 
demoralization  of  great  numbers. 

1  This  was  plainly  the  opinion  of  Thomas  Aquinas  (Sum.  Theol.,  iii., 
Sup.  25.  1),  as  it  is  the  implication  of  the  decrees  of  the  Council  of 
Trent. 

2  In  the  approved  theory,  an  indulgence  for  the  living  was  reckoned 
a  judicial  act.  As  respects  indulgences  for  the  dead,  many  eminent 
theologians  have  not  ventured  to  assign  them  so  unconditional  an 
efficacy. 


THE  PAPAL    THEOCRACY.  257 

The  character  of  the  legislation  against  heresy  has 
already  been  indicated  in  quotations  from  the  epistles 
of  Innocent  III.  and  the  canons  of  the  Council  of  Tou- 
louse. Decrees  equally  severe  were  issued  by  other 
popes  and  councils.  For  example,  the  Council  of 
Aries,  in  1234,  decreed  that  all  convicted  of  heresy, 
whatever  show  of  repentance  they  might  make,  should 
be  imprisoned  for  life.  That  there  was  a  plenty  of 
victims  under  this  policy  is  adequately  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  the  Synod  of  Narbonne,  in  1243,  found  it 
necessary  to  suspend  for  the  time  being  the  sentence 
to  life-long  imprisonment,  since  the  number  of  con- 
victed heretics  was  greater  than  the  prisons  could  hold. 
The  same  synod,  however,  made  a  bid  for  increased 
convictions,  ordaining  that,  where  heresy  was  in  ques- 
tion, the  worthless  and  discredited  character  of  the 
witness  should  be  no  bar  against  allowing  him  to  give 
in  his  testimony. 

The  attempt  of  the  Church  to  rule  men  in  all  rela- 
tions naturally  resulted  in  a  great  mass  of  legislation. 
In  the  twelfth  century,  as  the  distinguished  Irnerius 
revived  the  study  of  Roman  law  at  Bologna,  it  was 
felt  that  the  canon  law,  in  order  to  hold  its  own, 
needed  to  be  collected  and  systematized.  A  monk  by 
the  name  of  Gratian  undertook  this  great  task.  His 
collection  is  known  as  the  Decretum  Gratiani.  After 
several  supplements  had  been  added  to  Gratian's  work, 
a  new  collection  in  five  books  was  made  by  Raymond 
of  Pennaforte,  at  the  instance  of  Gregory  IX.  In  this 
the  papal  decretals  formed  the  principal  matter.  A 
sixth  book  was  added  by  Boniface  VIII.  Shortly  after- 
wards, another  collection  was  prepared  by  Clement  V. 

17 


258  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

This,  which  is  known  as  the  Clementines  was  puh- 
lished  in  1317  by  John  XXII.  Papal  constitutions 
viewed  as  detached  from  the  general  collections,  or 
as  additional  to  them,  were  frequently  designated  as 
extravag antes ^  an  abbreviation  of  the  phrase  extra  decre- 
turn  vagantes. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   CRUSADES. 

THE  Crusades  were  the  first  great  enterprise  which 
enlisted'  the  common  zeal  of  the  Christian  na- 
tions of  Europe.  History  records  scarcely  another  in- 
stance in  which  an  equal  enthusiasm  has  wrought  in 
men  of  so  many  different  countries  and  ranks.  All 
classes  of  society,  from  the  king  down  to  the  peasant, 
sent  forth  the  armed  pilgrims  who  were  to  reclaim  the 
holy  places  of  the  East.  Hundreds  of  thousands,  pos- 
sibly several  millions,  of  men  were  sacrificed  in  these 
expeditions. 

At  first  glance  we  are  astonished  at  the  enormous 
expenditure  of  treasure  and  men  upon  a  project  seem- 
ingly so  Utopian.  But  further  scrutiny  speedily  reveals 
that  substantial  causes  lay  back  of  the  crusades.  They 
were,  in  fact,  a  genuine  expression  of  mediseval  insti- 
tutions, thought,  and  feeling.  The  principal  factors  of 
mediaeval  civilization  are  clearly  visible  in  their  origi- 
nation. 

In  the  first  place,  papal  ambition  urged  on  the  cru- 
sades. They  were  distinctly  a  means  for  extending 
papal  dominion.  The  vanquishing  of  the  infidel  and 
the  establishing  of  a  Latin  power  in  the  East  were  to 
be  utilized  for  the  union  of  East  and  West.     The  Ro- 


260  THE  MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

man  pontiff  hoped  to  find  therein  means  for  bringing 
an  undivided  Church  beneath  his  sceptre.  Gregory 
VII.,  who  was  the  first  to  plan  a  crusade  upon  a  large 
scale,  gave  prominence,  as  we  have  seen,  to  this  design. 
Moreover  the  zeal  of  the  Popes  in  these  movements 
was  stimulated  by  their  bearing  upon  the  papal  suprem- 
acy in  the  West.  To  engage  powerful  sovereigns  in 
a  crusade  was  an  easy  way  to  be  relieved  from  danger- 
ous rivals.  Of  course  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the 
Popes  from  first  to  last  were  influenced  solely  by  such 
motives  as  these.  It  is  but  just  to  credit  them  with  a 
share  in  the  religious  sentiment  by  which  the  heart 
of  Europe  was  so  deeply  touched.^  At  the  same  time, 
it  lies  on  the  face  of  the  history  that  their  zeal  was 
sustained  by  the  desire  and  the  expectation  of  official 
advantage. 

In  the  second  place,  military  policy  urged  on  the  cru- 
sades. Mohammedanism  was  still  a  threatening  power. 
The  access  of  a  new  host  of  converts,  the  hardy  and 
sanguinary  Turks,  had  infused  into  it  a  new  energy. 
The  degenerate  Greeks  were  ill  prepared  to  withstand 
their  onsets.  Conscious  of  their  own  weakness,  they 
appealed  to  the  Latins  for  aid,  representing  that  Con- 
stantinople with  all  its  heirlooms  of  Christian  antiquity 

1  It  may  be  noticed  that  Gerbert  (known  afterwards  as  Pope  Syl- 
vester II.),  three  quarters  of  a  century  before  the  time  of  Gregory  VII., 
spoke  in  a  vein  of  deep  feeling  about  the  obligations  of  Christendom  to 
despoiled  and  mourning  Jerusalem.  The  following  words,  which  he  rep- 
resents her  as  addressing  to  the  Church  Universal,  seem  very  much 
like  a  call  to  a  crusade :  "  Cum  propheta  dixerit :  erit  sepulchrum  ejus 
gloriosum,  paganis  loca  sancta  subvertentibus,  tentat  diabolus  reddere 
inglorium.  Enitere  ergo,  miles  Christi,  esto  signifer  et  compugnator,  et 
quod  armis  nequis,  consilii  et  opum  auxilio  subveni."     (Epist.  xxviii.) 


THE   CRUSADES.  261 

was  likely  to  pass  under  the  profaning  hands  of  the 
infidels.  To  be  sure,  they  soon  learned  to  dread  the 
Latins  as  much  as  the  Turks,  and  made  them  the  vic- 
tims in  more  than  one  instance  of  their  treacherous 
arts.  But  at  the  outset  they  were  urgent  enough  in 
calling  them  to  the  rescue.  It  seemed,  therefore,  to 
be  the  dictate  of  a  wise  military  discretion  to  take  the 
offensive,  and  to  beat  back  the  foe  before  he  had  cap- 
tured any  more  of  the  strongholds  of  Christendom. 

Again,  the  crusading  enthusiasm  was  sustained  by 
the  prevalent  love  of  romantic  adventure  and  warlike 
exploits.  It  was  the  period  of  youth  in  the  history  of 
Europe.  The  age  of  manly  reflection  had  not  yet  ar- 
rived. Fantasy  usurped  largely  the  place  of  reason. 
Impelled  by  its  elating  and  disquieting  visions,  multi- 
tudes from  all  classes  were  ready  to  rush  eagerly  to- 
ward a  field  of  strange  adventure.  As  for  the  knights, 
the  continual  feuds  of  the  age  had  taught  them  to 
regard  the  practice  of  arms  as  their  profession.  The 
code  of  chivalry  which  was  coming  into  vogue  made 
daring  exploits  the  price  of  honor.  Naturally,  there- 
fore, the  knight  welcomed  the  crusade  as  at  once  grati- 
fying his  love  of  adventure  and  affording  a  theatre  for 
the  display  of  his  valor. 

Once  more,  the  value  assigned  to  pilgrimages  as  a 
means  of  penance  and  religious  edification  powerfully 
assisted  in  swelling  the  expeditions  to  the  Holy  Land. 
The  crusades  might  aptly  be  described  as  armed  pil- 
grimages. They  carried  out  on  a  larger  scale  the  cus- 
tom which  long  had  been  fostered  by  the  materialistic 
piety  of  the  times,  —  a  piety  which  depended  largely 
for  its  inspiration  upon   material   objects  and  associa- 


262  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

tions.     To  such  a  type  of  religion  nothing  could  seem 
more  desirable,  nothing  more  fruitful  to  the  soul,  than 
to  stand  amid  the  scenes  which  had  been  sanctified  by 
the  Savior's  life  and  sufferings.     Heaven,  it  was  fondly 
pictured,  stooped  low  above  the  Holy  Sepulchre.     Je- 
rusalem, accordingly,  from  the  days  when  the  true  cross 
was  believed  to  have  been  discovered,  was  a  favorite 
resort.     The   subjection   of  the   city  to  Mohammedan 
rule  did  not  stop  the  influx  except  in  a  season  of  un- 
usual persecution.     A   continuous   stream  of  pilgrims 
sought  her  gates,  to  satisfy  their  religious  sentiment,  or 
to  gain  a  respite  from  the  tortures  of  an  accusing  con- 
science.    We  read  of  a  French  count  who  three  times 
made  the  journey  to  Jerusalem,  in  his  penitence  for  his 
crimes,  and  his  endeavor  to  escape  the  pursuing  spectres 
of  those  whom  his  ci'uelty  had  destroyed.     Many  sim- 
ilar examples  are  on  record.    Often  no  greater  boon  was 
desired  than  the  privilege  of  dying  on  the  consecrated 
soil.     When  the  pilgrims  presented  themselves  before 
the  Holy  Sepulchre,  they  were  accustomed,  it  is  said,  to 
offer  up  this  prayer :  "  Thou  who  didst  die  for  us  and 
wast  buried  in  this  holy  spot,  take  pity  of  our  misery, 
and  withdraw  us  at  once  from  this  valley  of  tears."  ^ 
In  some  instances  quite  a  large  number  of  pilgrims  un- 
dertook the  journey  together.     Thus,  in  the  year  1054 
the  Bishop  of  Cambray  set  out  with  a  company  of  three 
thousand,  and  ten  years  later  seven  thousand  started 
under  the  Archbishop  of  Mayence  and  the  neighboring 
prelates.     This  was  carrying  pilgrimage  far  toward  the 
proportions   of  a  crusade.      Now,  as   the    crusade  an- 
swered the  same  ends  as  a  pilgrimage,  and  was  regarded 

1  J.  r.  Michaud,  History  of  the  Crusades,  book  i. 


THE   CRUSADES.  263 

as  a  work  of  even  greater  merit,  it  was  but  natural  that 
any  cause  of  special  excitement  should  inflame  a  nu- 
merous host  with  the  ambition  to  march  to  Jerusalem 
and  to  drive  out  the  infidel. 

Such  a  cause  was  supplied  by  the  contagious  zeal  of 
Peter  the  Hermit.  This  man,  who  was  a  Frenchman 
by  birth,  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land  in  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  his  early  life.  Both  on  his  journey 
and  after  his  arrival  he  had  experienced  the  barbarities 
of  the  Turks,  and  witnessed  the  indignities  which  oth- 
ers suffered  at  the  hands  of  these  rude  Mohammedans, 
who  had  not  the  self-restraint  to  treat  Christians  with 
respect  and  kindness,  though  they  allowed  them  to  visit 
the  Holy  City  for  the  sake  of  the  revenue  which  they 
brought.  At  Jerusalem  he  met  the  Patriarch  Simeon. 
As  he  listened  to  his  plaints  over  the  sad  condition  of 
affairs  and  the  hopelessness  of  relief  through  the  East- 
ern Emperors,  he  was  prompted  to  reply  that  Western 
Europe,  if  once  thoroughly  aroused,  could  be  relied 
upon  to  bring  effectual  aid.  The  Patriarch  caught  at 
this  suggestion,  and,  entering  readily  into  the  plan  of 
his  visitor,  gave  under  his  seal  such  a  statement  of  the 
facts  as  might  enlist  the  sympathies  of  Western  Chris- 
tians. Armed  with  this  document,  Peter  the  Hermit 
returned  to  Europe.  Abundant  success  at  once  at- 
tended his  efforts.  Pope  Urban  II.  entered  zealously 
into  the  project  of  a  crusade,  and  the  people  made  a 
generous  response.  At  the  Council  of  Placentia,  in 
March,  1095,  interest  in  the  enterprise  was  manifested 
by  an  attendance  of  upwards  of  thirty  thousand,  and 
at  the  Council  of  Clermont  in  the  ensuing  November 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  vast  throng  broke  through  all 


264  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

restraint,  and  interrupted  the  eloquent  address  of  the 
Pope  with  the  mighty  and  confident  cry,  "  God  wills 
it !  "  —  "  God  wills  it !  "  The  Pope  took  up  the  words, 
declared  that  they  should  be  the  battle  cry  of  Christ's 
soldiers  in  the  holy  war,  and  commanded  that  all  re- 
cruits should  attach  to  their  garments  the  form  of  the 
cross. 

The  time  fixed  upon  for  the  departure  of  the  crusad- 
ing army  was  August,  1096.  But  the  impatience  of  the 
people  led  them  to  anticipate  this  date.  Before  the 
military  leaders  had  accomplished  their  preparations 
there  were  already  on  the  march  no  less  than  four 
detachments,  namely,  some  20,000  under  Walter  the 
Penniless,  40,000  under  Peter  the  Hermit,  15,000  un- 
der a  German  j)riest  by  the  name  of  Gottschalk,  and 
an  ill-assorted  rabble  of  the  baser  elements  of  society 
estimated  by  some  as  high  as  200,000.  A  large  propor- 
tion of  these  undisciplined  and  ungovernable  troops 
fell  by  the  hands  of  the  Hungarians  and  Bulgarians, 
whose  fear  or  wrath  they  excited  by  their  lawless  con- 
duct. Walter  the  Penniless  and  Peter  the  Hermit 
succeeded  in  bringing  a  remnant  of  their  forces  to  Con- 
stantinople. These  had  an  opportunity  to  fight  with 
the  infidels,  but  only  to  be  wellnigh  exterminated  in  a 
rash  venture  which  they  made  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Nicsea. 

While  thus  an  unguided  enthusiasm  was  vainly  sacri- 
ficing the  lives  of  tens  of  thousands,  a  well  officered  and 
well  equipped  army  was  being  gathered.  This  came 
to  Constantinople  in  different  divisions,  under  such 
leaders  as  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  Hugh,  Count  of  Ver- 
maiidois,  Raymond  of  Toulouse,  and  Bohemond  of  Ta- 


THE   CRUSADES.  265 

rentum,  with  his  nepliew  Tancred.  "  According  to  the 
lowest  computation  the  army  must  have  numbered  more 
than  six  hundred  thousand  soldiers  and  pilgrims.  There 
were  upwards  of  one  hundred  thousand  mailed  horse- 
men, the  flower  of  the  chivalry  of  Europe.  They  were 
clothed  for  the  most  part  in  scale  armor ;  their  heads 
were  covered  with  glittering  helmets."^  A  truly  for- 
midable array !  The  Mohammedans  now  found  that 
they  had  to  deal  with  foemen  worthy  of  their  steel.  In 
hard  contested  battles  the  Christian  soldiers  proved 
their  superiority.  Having  taken  Nicaea,  Edessa,  and 
Antioch  on  their  way,  they  came  at  length  with  de- 
pleted ranks  to  the  Holy  City.  A  brief  siege  and  a 
desperate  assault  gave  them  possession,  and  their  swords 
were  dyed  with  the  blood  of  the  infidel  inhabitants 
(1099).  Godfrey  of  Bouillon  was  chosen  King  of  Je- 
rusalem ;  and  a  worthier  choice  could  not  have  been 
made.  While  he  accepted  the  office,  he  declined  the 
insignia  and  the  title,  refusing  to  wear  a  crown  of  gold 
in  the  city  in  which  the  Savior  had  worn  a  crown  of 
thorns,  and  styling  himself  simply  the  "  Defender  of 
the  Holy  Sepulchre."  Thus  ended  the  first  and  most 
successful  of  the  crusades.  After  defeating  an  army 
sent  by  the  Egyptian  Saltan  to  recapture  Jerusalem 
most  of  the  leaders  returned  to  Europe. 

The  second  crusade  (1147-1149)  was  commanded  by 
Conrad  HI.  of  Germany  and  Louis  VII.  of  France.  It 
was  a  sad  failure.  Only  a  remnant  of  the  great  armies 
which  took  the  march  ever  passed  the  limits  of  Asia 
Minor,  where  they  were  made  the  prey  of  treachery, 
famine,  and  the  sword. 

1  W.  E.  Dutton,  History  of  the  Crusades. 


266  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

Before  the  inauguration  of  the  third  crusade  (1189- 
1193)  the  Mohammedans  had  found  a  competent  leader 
in  the  celebrated  Saladin,  and  Europe  had  been  shocked 
by  the  news  that  Jerusalem  had  again  fallen  under  the 
rule  of  the  infidel  (1187).  In  response  to  the  cry  of 
grief  and  dismay  the  greatest  sovereigns  took  the  cross, 
Frederic  I.  of  Germany,  Philip  Augustus  of  France,  and 
Richard  of  England.  Frederic  perished  on  the  march. 
A  remnant  of  his  army,  together  with  the  forces  of 
Philip  and  Richard,  assisted  in  the  capture  of  Acre. 
Further  success  was  hindered  by  the  jealousies  of  the 
two  kings.  Richard,  it  is  true,  achieved  some  remark- 
able exploits.  His  valor  won  him  the  admiration  of 
the  foe,  as  well  as  of  his  Christian  adherents.  So  great, 
it  is  said,  became  the  terror  of  his  name,  that  Saracen 
mothers  were  wont  to  use  it  sixty  years  later  as  a  means 
of  frightening  their  children.  But  his  deeds  of  bravery 
and  personal  force  brought  little  gain  to  the  Christian 
cause. 

An  introduction  to  the  fourth  crusade  (1202-1204) 
has  already  been  given  in  the  account  of  the  pontifi- 
cate of  Innocent  III.  Its  history  shows  how  the  baser 
motives  of  worldly  ambition  had  usurped  the  place  of 
tlie  religious  enthusiasm  which  first  started  the  hosts 
of  Europe  toward  the  coasts  of  Asia.  Instead  of  re- 
gaining Jerusalem  from  the  infidel,  it  gave  the  seat 
of  Christian  empire  in  the  East  into  the  possession  of 
the  Latins. 

The  fifth  crusade  (1217-1221),  under  the  King  of 
Hungary,   Hugh  of  Lusignan,  and  John  de  Brienne,^ 

1  Hugh  was  King  of  Cyprus,  John  de  Brienne  nominal  King  of  Je- 
rusalem. 


THE   CRUSADES.  267 

gained  a  temporary  success  in  Egypt.  Several  years 
before  this  expedition,  one  of  the  wildest  pieces  of  folly 
known  to  European  history  had  been  perpetrated,  —  the 
Children's  Crusade  (1212).  In  this  senseless  move- 
ment, some  thirty  or  forty  thousand  children  either  met 
their  death  through  exposure  and  hunger,  or,  falling 
into  the  hands  of  pitiless  and  designing  men,  were  sold 
into  slavery. 

The  sixth  crusade  (1228-1229)  was  led  by  Frederic  II. 
As  already  observed,  he  acted  under  the  weight  of  the 
papal  ban,  but  was  able,  nevertheless,  to  effect  a  treaty 
for  the  surrender  of  Jerusalem,  certain  privileges  being 
guaranteed  to  the  Mohammedan  residents.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  still  more  favorable  terms  might  have 
been  obtained  had  it  not  been  for  the  virulent  opposi- 
tion of  the  Pope. 

In  the  seventh  and  eighth  crusades,  undertaken  in 
1248  and  1270,  the  leading  figure  was  St.  Louis  of 
France.  Both  were  fruitless.  The  first  came  to  dis- 
aster in  Egypt,  after  a  brief  season  of  success,  during 
which  Damietta  was  taken.  The  second  was  arrested 
by  the  ravages  of  a  plague  upon  the  coast  of  Africa, 
where  Louis  himself  was  among  the  victims.  Prior 
to  these  expeditions,  whose  best  result  seems  to  have 
been  the  illustration  which  they  gave  of  the  piety  and 
fortitude  of  the  French  King,  Jerusalem  had  been 
finally  lost  to  the  Christians.  Other  strongholds  in 
Palestine  and  Syria  erelong  shared  the  same  fate. 
With  the  fall  of  Acre,  in  1291,  the  last  remnant  of 
Christian  dominion  in  the  East  which  had  been  won 
by  the  crusades  was  relinquished.  No  serious  effort 
was  again  put  forth  to  wrest  the  Holy  Land  from  Mo- 


268  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

haramedan  rule.  The  voice  of  a  Pope  was  indeed  occa- 
sionally raised  in  favor  of  a  crusade.  But  zeal  for  the 
enterprise  had  perished,  and  could  not  be  revived. 
Europe  had  not  the  requisite  ambition  to  guard  her 
own  borders  against  the  Turk,  to  say  nothing  about 
routing  him  from  more  distant  fields. 

Among  the  memorials  which  survived  the  crusades 
the  military  orders  were  one  of  the  most  interesting. 
There  were  three,  — the  Hospitallers  or  Knights  of  St. 
John,  the  Templars,  and  the  Teutonic  Knights.  The 
germ  of  the  first  was  a  hospital,  which  was  founded  in 
the  eleventh  century  for  the  care  of  sick  and  wounded 
pilgrims.  The  brothers  of  the  hospital  lived  under  mo- 
nastic rule.  In  the  first  half  of  the  twelfth  century  the 
association  took  on  a  military  cast.  As  now  organized, 
the  order  consisted  of  serving  brothers,  who  were  occu- 
pied with  the  care  of  the  sick,  priests,  who  discharged 
the  rites  of  religion,  and  knights,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
fight  against  the  infidel  and  to  guard  the  pilgrim.  On 
the  evacuation  of  Palestine,  the  Hospitallers  retired  to 
the  island  of  Rhodes.  In  the  time  of  Charles  V.  the 
island  of  Malta  was  assigned  to  them.  The  organiza- 
tion of  the  Templars  was  like  that  of  the  Hospitallers. 
By  the  end  of  the  crusades  the  order  was  extended 
over  a  large  part  of  Europe,  and  was  extensively  en- 
dowed. An  object  at  once  of  jealousy  and  avarice,  they 
were  assailed  by  the  most  damaging  reports  as  respects 
their  morals  and  their  faith,  and,  at  the  instigation  of 
the  despotic  Philip  the  Fair,  the  order  was  dissolved  in 
1312,  after  having  been  subjected  to  a  tragic  ordeal. 
The  Teutonic  Knights  were  instituted,  after  the  model 
of  the  other  orders,  in  connection  with  the  third  cru- 


THE    CRUSADES.  209 

sade,  aud  were  specially  devoted  to  the  care  and  pro- 
tection of  German  pilgrims.  Service  was  also  rendered 
by  this  order  in  the  protection  of  Christianity  in  the 
district  bordering  on  the  Prussians,  who  still  in  the 
thirteenth  century  were  stubbornly  attached  to  their 
paganism. 

However  fruitless  the  crusades  may  have  been  as 
respects  their  immediate  object,  they  were  far  from 
being  destitute  of  substantial  results.  If  they  did  not 
transform  Asia  according  to  their  intent,  they  trans- 
formed Europe  far  beyond  their  design.  They  brought 
isolated  sections  into  contact  with  each  other,  and  led 
the  nations  to  a  wider  outlook.  They  gave  a  new 
stimulus  to  thought  and  enterprise.  The  mind  of  Eu- 
rope was  made  by  their  means  more  active,  more  in- 
quisitive, and  more  confident.  Hence,  while  they 
enlarged  the  power  of  the  papacy  in  the  beginning, 
they  abridged  it  in  the  end.  The  Popes  came  to 
find  in  the  people  a  less  passive  instrument  to  deal 
with,  so  that  the  assertion  of  their  more  extreme 
pretensions  was  likely  to  incur  the  ignominy  of 
defeat. 

At  the  same  time,  the  crusades  effected  a  great  trans- 
formation in  the  constitution  of  society.  They  hastened 
the  disintegration  of  the  feudal  system.  Union  in  a 
common  enterprise  tended  to  lessen  somewhat  the  dis- 
tance between  lord  and  vassal,  between  noble  and 
peasant.  Moreover,  many  a  noble  found  himself  em- 
barrassed by  the  pecuniary  demands  of  these  great 
expeditions.  To  gain  the  necessary  funds,  he  might 
be  obliged  to  release  a  city  from  feudal  obligations, 
or  to  make  over  a  part  of  his  domain  to  the  king  or 


270  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

other  purchaser.  Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  the  feu- 
dal nobility  were  depressed,  and  a  relative  ascendency 
was  given  to  the  king  and  the  commercial  classes. 
A  centralizing  movement,  a  movement  toward  the 
modern  type  of  states,  dates  from  the  era  of  the 
crusades. 


I 


! 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MONASTICISM. 

I. — THE  CISTEECIANS   AND   THEIR   GREAT  REPRE- 
SENTATIVE. 

AMONG  the  monastic  fraternities  which  originated 
in  the  eleventh  century,  a  distinguished  place  was 
occupied  by  the  Carthusians  and  the  Cistercians.  The 
founder  of  the  former  was  Bruno,  the  cultured  prin- 
cipal of  the  cathedral  school  at  Rheims.  His  fervent 
piety  gave  him  a  predilection  for  the  monastic  life.  At 
the  same  time,  the  conduct  of  his  ecclesiastical  supe- 
riors stimulated  his  desire  to  escape  the  world.  His 
archbishop  was  a  man  who  could  indulge  the  declara- 
tion that  the  episcopal  charge  at  Rheims  would  be  a 
fine  thing,  if  only  one  could  enjoy  the  income  with- 
out being  obliged  to  say  mass.  Disgusted  by  this 
heartless  dealing  with  sacred  things,  Bruno  retired  to 
the  lonely  vale  of  Chartreuse  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Grenoble.  Here,  in  1084,  with  twelve  companions, 
he  initiated  an  order  which  bore  an  honored  name  by 
reason  of  unusual  perseverance  in  a  simple  and  austere 
piety. 

A  kindred  spirit  gave  rise  to  the  Cistercians.  The 
founder,  Robert  of  Molesme,  being  dissatisfied  with  the 
lax  fashion  in  which  the  Benedictine  discipline  was  ad- 


272  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

ministered  in  the  existing  societies,  retired  to  Citeaux 
in  the  bishopric  of  Chalons,  in  1098.  Little  addition 
was  made  under  the  first  three  abbots  to  the  twenty 
monks  who  began  the  foundation.  The  severity  of  the 
Cistercian  rule  was  too  far  above  the  level  of  monastic 
enthusiasm  to  be  generally  attractive.  Only  the  per- 
sonal force  of  a  great  leader  could  enkindle  the  zeal 
which  would  welcome  the  rigorous  scheme  of  the  new 
order.  In  Bernard  of  Clairvaux  such  a  leader  was 
found.  His  name  by  itself  established  the  reputation 
of  the  order,  and  secured  its  rapid  spread.  Its  monas- 
teries are  said  to  have  amounted  to  two  thousand,  and 
its  nunneries  to  nearly  six  thousand,  in  the  thirteenth 
century.^ 

Bernard  was  born  in  1091.  His  life,  accordingly,  fell 
at  a  marked  epoch  in  the  history  of  Europe.  It  was 
the  youthful,  romantic,  crusading  era.  Within  the  first 
eight  years  of  his  life  came  the  stirring  summons  to  the 
earliest  of  the  crusades  from  the  lips  of  Peter  the  Her- 
mit, the  sacrifice  of  scores  of  thousands  of  lives  in  the 
project,  and  the  recovery  of  Jerusalem  from  the  in- 
fidel. In  the  inauguration  of  the  second  crusade  Ber- 
nard was  himself  the  most  conspicuous  agent,  and  gave 
the  full  energies  of  his  manhood  to  stir  up  princes  and 
people  to  the  holy  emprise.  It  was  a  time  when  feeling 
was  dominant  over  reflection ;  a  time  when  men  were 
dissatisfied  with  the  ordinary,  and  piety  sought  for  it- 
self extraordinary  expression,  urging  its  devotees  to  the 
cloister,  the  pilgrimage,  or  the  adventurous  undertak- 
ing. Such  an  age  Bernard  was  fitted  at  once  to  repre- 
sent and  to  command.  Possessing  himself  a  heart  deeply 
I  Kurtz,  Kirchengeschiclite,  §  99. 


MONA  STICISM.  273 

imbued  with  poetic  sentiment  and  mj^stieal  ardor,  he 
knew  how  to  touch  the  emotive  nature  of  the  people 
with  a  master  hand.  At  the  same  time  he  gave  so  large 
an  exhibition  of  practical  sagacity  as  naturally  won  re- 
liance upon  his  leadership.  Thus  swaying  at  once 
the  hearts  of  his  contemporaries  and  commanding  their 
judgment,  he  gained  such  an  ascendency  over  his  age 
as  finds  few  parallels  in  history. 

Like  other  great  lights  of  the  Church,  Bernard  owed 
much  to  maternal  tuition.  His  mother  lived  a  life  of 
ardent  piety,  and  died  with  a  psalm  upon  her  lips. 
Each  of  her  six  sons  was  consecrated  by  her  to  the 
Lord  from  the  hour  of  birth.  Bernard,  though  not  the 
oldest,  was  the  first  earnestly  to  espouse  a  life  of  re- 
ligious devotion.  About  the  time  that  he  reached  his 
majority  he  formed  an  inflexible  purpose  to  enter  the 
monastic  life.  His  friends  attempted  to  dissuade  him 
from  his  design  ;  but  Bernard  was  stronger  than  they, 
and  at  once  gave  evidence  of  that  powerful  personality 
which  so  often  brought  him  the  victory.  Instead  of 
yielding  to  their  opposition,  he  turned  his  persuasions 
upon  his  friends,  and  actually  induced  all  his  brothers 
who  were  of  sufficient  age,  as  well  as  some  other  rela- 
tives, to  join  him.  As  they  left  the  feudal  castle  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Dijon  in  France,  which  had  been  the 
home  of  their  childhood,  an  incident  occurred  which 
showed  how  lightly  their  sacrifice  might  have  been 
esteemed  by  the  more  earnest  believers  of  that  age. 
The  youngest  —  a  boy  who  still  was  accustomed  to  play 
with  his  companions  on  the  street  —  being  left  behind, 
the  eldest  remarked  to  him  in  his  farewell,  ''Behold, 
our  entire  estate  now  belongs  to  you."     But  the  boy 

18 


274  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

answered,  "  Thus  heaven  to  you,  and  to  me  the  earth  ; 
that  is  no  equal  division."  ^ 

In  1113  Bernard  and  his  companions  applied  for  ad- 
mission to  the  cloister  of  Citeaux.  Severe  as  was  the 
rule  of  the  Cistercians,  it  fell  below  Bernard's  ambitions 
for  self-discipline,  and  of  his  own  accord  he  exceeded 
the  requirements.  His  asceticism  was  carried  to  an  ex- 
treme which  threatened  the  ruin  of  his  health.  He  was 
not  content  with  the  Christian  ideal  of  a  sanctified 
manhood,  but  in  the  genuine  spirit  of  monastic  ex- 
aggeration sought  something  above  human  nature. 
Ashamed  of  earthly  needs  and  uses,  he  seemed  anxious 
to  give  no  place  whatever  to  the  body  in  his  considera- 
tion. Later  he  himself  repented  of  the  extreme  to 
which  he  was  led  by  youthful  zeal.  The  injury  done 
to  his  health,  however,  was  not  without  its  compensa- 
tion. The  contrast  between  his  vigor  of  soul  and  the 
feebleness  of  his  attenuated  body  greatly  added  to  the 
impression  which  his  presence  made  upon  the  men  of 
his  time. 

Bernard  had  not  been  long  in  the  cloister  before  his 
superior  sanctity  and  ability  attracted  attention.  The 
monastic  community  at  Citeaux  became  too  numerous 
for  the  accommodations ;  a  colony  was  therefore  sent 
out ;  a  new  cloister  was  founded  at  Clairvaux,  and 
Bernard  was  chosen  abbot,  though  but  twenty-four 
years  of  age. 

As  a  superior  over  monks,  Bernard  exercised  a  real 

kingship  of  personal   influence.     He    understood  well 

the    art  of  grappling  with   a   refractory  nature.     The 

story  is  told  of  how  he  rescued  a  notorious  criminal 

1  Neander,  Der  heilige  Bernhard  und  sein  Zeitalter. 


MONASTICISM.  275 

from  those  who  were  hurrying  him  to  execution,  took 
the  blood-stained  robber  under  his  tuition,  and  con- 
verted him  into  a  humble  and  pious  monk.  If  thus 
able  to  bend  refractory  material,  it  may  be  concluded 
that  his  supremacy  was  easily  asserted  over  those  who 
of  their  own  accord  elected  him  as  their  spiritual  master, 
and  from  the  outset  were  his  admirers  and  almost  wor- 
shippers. Bernard  showed,  too,  no  little  discretion  as 
a  Christian  guide.  If  he  was  bound  by  the  ascetic 
maxims  of  his  age,  he  still  knew  how  to  mingle  much 
of  practical  wisdom  with  their  application.  He  was 
well  aware  of  the  danger  of  dwelling  too  exclusively 
upon  one  phase  of  truth  or  practice.  Let  labor  and 
meditation,  said  he,  succeed  each  other  at  proper  inter- 
vals. Like  the  sisters  Martha  and  Mary,  they  should 
dwell  together.  "When  one  falls  from  the  light  of 
meditation,  he  guards  against  sinking  into  the  darkness 
of  sin  and  the  torpor  of  idleness  by  abiding  in  the 
light  of  good  works."  ^  As  respects  the  ordering  of 
meditations,  he  advised  against  the  continuous  pursuit 
of  one  line  of  reflection.  "  I  exhort  you,"  said  he  in 
one  of  his  sermons,  ''  to  leave  for  a  season  the  painful 
and  anxious  remembrance  of  your  ways,  to  strike 
away  into  the  softer  parts  of  memory,  and  dwell  upon 
the  loving  kindness  of  God,  that  you  who  are  con- 
founded in  yourselves  may  recover  by  gazing  on  Him. 
I  wish  you  to  experience  that  which  the  holy  prophet 
advised,  saying,  '•  Delight  thou  in  the  Lord,  and  He 
shall  give  thee  thy  heart's  desire.'  Now  grief  over  sin 
is  necessary  if  it  be  not  constant ;  it  must  be  broken  by 
the  more  joyful  remembrance  of  the  Divine  goodness, 
1  Sermones  in  Cantica,  li.  2. 


276  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

lest   the    heart   grow  hardened    through   sadness,    and 
from  despair  perish  more  exceedingi}'."  ^ 

Bernard,  however  zealously  he  may  have  been  devoted 
to  the  monastic  regime,  did  not  lose  the  man  in  the 
monk.  The  strong  native  currents  of  feehng  were  not 
repressed  by  self-discipline.  His  inborn  love  of  nature, 
for  example,  lost  nothing  of  its  enthusiasm  in  the  clois- 
tral life.  "  Trust  to  one,"  says  he,  "  who  has  had  ex- 
perience. You  will  find  something  greater  in  the  woods 
than  in  books.  Trees  and  stones  will  teach  you  what 
you  cannot  learn  from  masters.  Think  you  not  that 
you  can  suck  honey  from  the  rock  and  oil  from  the 
flinty  rock?  Do  not  the  mountains  drop  sweetness, 
the  hills  flow  with  milk  and  honey,  and  the  valleys 
stand  thick  with  corn?  "^  In  various  relations  the  im- 
]3ulses  of  an  intense  and  affectionate  heart  gained  full 
vent.  Witness  the  strain  which  he  indulged  on  the 
death  of  his  brother  Gerard  :  "  He  was  my  brother  by 
blood,  but  more  than  brother  by  religion.  I  was  weak 
in  body,  and  he  sustained  me ;  downcast  in  spirit,  and 
he  comforted  me :  slow  and  negligent,  and  he  stimu- 
lated me.  My  soul  clave  to  his,  and  identity  of  mind, 
not  of  blood,  made  us  one.  When  we,  therefore,  were 
of  one  mind,  one  heart,  the  sword  which  pierced  through 
his  soul  pierced  mine  also,  and,  separating  us,  placed  one 
part  in  heaven  and  left  the  other  in  the  mire  of  earth."  ^ 
A  similar  glimpse  into  the  heart  of  Bernard  is  furnished 
by  various  of  his  epistles  to  his  friends.  Thus  he  wrote 
to  a  young  disciple  who  had  been  promoted  to  the  posi- 
tion of  abbot:  "As  a  mother  loves  her  only  son,  even 

1  Sermones  in  Cantica,  xi.  2. 

2  Epist.  CTi.  2  Serm.  in  Cant.,  xxvi. 


MONA  S  TICISM.  211 

SO  did  I  love  you,  when  you  clave  to  my  side,  and  re- 
joiced my  heart.  And  now  I  will  love  you  when  far 
from  me,  lest  I  should  appear  to  have  loved  my  own 
comfort  in  yon,  and  not  yourself."  ^  To  parents  anx- 
ious lest  the  monastic  discipline  should  prove  too  se- 
vere for  their  son  he  wrote :  ''I  will  be  to  him  a  father, 
a  mother,  a  brother,  and  a  sister.  I  will  make  the 
crooked  straight  for  him,  and  the  rough  smooth.  I  will 
so  temper  and  order  all  things  for  him,  that  he  shall  at 
once  gain  in  spirit  and  not  fail  in  body."^  To  the 
members  of  his  cloister  he  wrote :  "  Judge  for  your- 
selves what  mj^  sufferings  are.  If  my  absence  is  pain- 
ful to  you,  let  no  one  doubt  that  it  is  more  painful  to 
me.  For  the  loss  you  experience  in  my  single  absence 
is  not  to  be  compared  with  mine,  when  I  am  deprived 
of  all  of  you.  As  many  as  there  are  of  you,  so  many 
cares  do  I  feel ;  from  each  one  I  grieve  to  be  separated ; 
for  each  do  I  fear  dangers."  ^ 

The  Abbot  of  Clairveaux  by  no  means  confined  him- 
self to  the  narrow  precincts  of  the  cloister.  The  fame 
of  his  sanctity  and  the  power  of  his  address  made 
him  too  efficient  in  great  emergencies  to  allow  of  his 
remaining  in  seclusion.  If  bishops,  nobles,  princes, 
or  popes  had  any  arduous  work  to  perform,  Bernard 
was  the  necessary  ally.  Even  those  who  were  jealous 
of  his  fame  were  too  deeply  conscious  of  the  utility  of 
his  aid  to  withhold  long  their  summons.  He  responded 
according  to  his  view  of  the  cause,  and  with  but  little 
regard  for  the  persons  of  men.  At  one  time  his  friend, 
Count  Theobald,  had  hastily  and  unjustly  taken  away 

1  Morison,  Life  and  Times  of  Saint  Bernard. 

2  Epist.  ex.  3  Epist.  cxliii. 


278  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

the  property  of  a  vassal  by  the  name  of  Humbert.  Ber- 
nard told  the  Count,  that  with  what  measure  he  had 
measured,  he  might  expect  that  it  would  be  measured 
to  him  again,  and  warned  him  that  it  would  be  far 
easier  for  God  to  disinherit  him  than  it  had  been  for 
him  to  rob  Humbert  of  his  estate.^  At  another  time, 
the  territories  of  the  same  Count  were  being  ravaged  by 
the  French  King,  Louis  VH.,  because  of  the  support 
which  had  been  given  by  Theobald  to  certain  obnoxious 
measures  of  the  Pope.  Bernard  did  not  scruple  to  ren- 
der a  scathing  rebuke  to  the  monarch,  as  he  broke  truce 
and  drew  the  sword.  "  Too  quickly  and  rashly,"  said 
he,  ''  you  forsake  the  good  and  healthful  counsel  which 
3^ou  had  received,  and  hasten,  I  know  not  by  what 
devilish  instigation,  to  renew  the  evils  which  you  de- 
servedly deplored  in  the  presence  of  the  freshly  wrought 
misery  and  ruin.  For  from  whom  else  than  the  devil 
should  I  say  such  a  purpose  proceeds  as  adds  conflagra- 
tion to  conflagration,  slaughter  to  slaughter,  and  makes 
the  cry  of  the  poor,  the  groans  of  the  fettered,  and  the 
blood  of  the  slain,  to  appeal  unto  Him  who  is  the  Father 
of  orphans  and  a  Judge  for  the  widows."  ^ 

Another  conspicuous  occasion  for  public  activity  was 
given  by  the  schism  in  the  papacy  which  occurred 
after  the  death  of  Honorius  II.  (1130).  Two  rival 
claimants  —  Innocent  II.  and  Anacletus  II.  —  appealed 
each  to  the  obedience  of  Christendom.  Bernard  sided 
with  the  former.  Largely  through  his  influence  the 
French  and  English  governments  decided  to  recognize 
Innocent  as  the  lawful  Pope.  But  the  Count  of  Aqui- 
taine  asserted  the  claim  of  Anacletus,  and  banished  the 

1  Epist.  xxxvii.  2  Epjst.  ccxxi. 


MONASTICISM.  279 

bishops  opposing  his  decision.  Bernard  sought  a  per- 
sonal interview  with  the  Count,  and  soon  prevailed 
upon  him  to  acknowledge  Innocent.  At  the  same  time 
he  swore  that  he  would  not  receive  back  the  bishops,  — 
the  men  Avho  had  so  deeply  offended  him.  Here  Avas  a 
challenge  that  called  for  a  decisive  answer.  Bernard 
turned  suddenly  away,  entered  into  the  sanctuary,  per- 
formed the  rite  of  consecration,  and  bearing  forth  the 
host,  which  the  common  faith  of  the  age  esteemed  the 
very  body  of  Christ,  exclaimed  to  the  Count  with  a 
voice  of  thunder :  "  We  have  beseeched  you,  and  us 
you  have  despised  ;  an  assembled  multitude  of  God's 
servants  have  implored  you,  and  them  have  you  de- 
spised. Behold  the  Virgin's  Son,  the  Head  and  Lord 
of  that  Church  which  you  persecute,  comes  toward 
you.  Your  Judge  is  here,  at  whose  name  every  knee 
shall  bow,  whether  in  heaven,  on  earth,  or  in  hell. 
Your  Judge  is  here,  into  whose  hand  your  soul  will 
fall.  Will  you  spurn  Him  also  ?  Will  you  despise 
Him  as  you  have  His  servants?"  The  appeal  was 
overpowering.  Trembling  lest  the  instant  judgment 
of  Heaven  should  descend  upon  him,  the  Count  fell  to 
the  earth.  On  recovering  his  senses,  he  agreed  at  once 
to  receive  back  the  banished  bishops.^  A  cause  with 
such  an  advocate  could  hardly  fail  of  success.  In  Italy 
as  well  as  in  France  Bernard  was  a  victorious  cham- 
pion, and  finally  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  Innocent 
in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  the  chair  of  Peter.^ 

1  Morison. 

2  Bernard's  zeal  in  this  controversy  seems  to  have  outrun  his  charity. 
The  following  are  the  terms  in  which  he  referred  to  the  death  of  Ana- 
cletus  :  "Ille,  ille,  iniquus  qui  peccare  fecit  Israel,  morte  absorptus  est, 


.280  THE  MEDIJ^VAL  CHURCH. 

It  could  hardly  be  expected  that  so  powerful  a  ser- 
vant of  the  Popes  would  stand  in  timid  subservience  to 
their  will.  In  fact,  the  Abbot  of  Clairvaux  appears 
quite  as  much  an  adviser  and  instructor  of  the  Popes 
as  a  servant.  His  style  of  address  is  not  without  rev- 
erence ;  but  great  plainness  is  mixed  with  the  rever- 
ence. Observe  his  language  to  Innocent  II.  :  "  There 
is  but  one  voice  among  those  who  exercise  a  faithful 
superintendence  of  the  people  ;  and  that  declares  that 
justice  is  perishing  in  the  Church,  that  the  power  of  the 
keys  is  annulled,  that  episcopal  authority  is  brought 
low,  since  a  bishop  can  no  longer  appear  as  an  avenger 
of  crimes,  and  no  one  is  allowed  to  chastise  iniquity 
even  in  his  own  parish.  What  they  ordain  aright,  you, 
as  they  say,  abolish ;  what  they  justly  abolish,  you  es- 
tablish. The  flagitious  and  contentious  among  the  peo- 
ple, the  clergy,  or  even  the  renegade  monks,  run  to 
you,  and  on  returning  boast  that  they  have  obtained 
protectors,  when  they  ought  rather  to  have  obtained  an 
agent  of  vengeance  on  themselves.  .  .  .  Your  friends 
are  confounded,  the  faithful  are  insulted,  the  bishops 
everywhere  are  coming  into  shame  and  contempt ;  and 
while  their  righteous  judgments  are  despised,  your  own 
authority  also  suffers  great  injury."  ^  Toward  Pope 
Eugenius  also  Bernard  assumed  an  attitude  of  great 
boldness  and  frankness.  He  declared  that  the  Pope 
was  demeaning  his  office  when  he  gave  so  much  atten- 
tion to  worldly  business,  and  that  he  ought  rather  to 

et  traductus  in  ventrem  inferni.  Fecerat  quippe,  secundum  prophe- 
tam,  pactum  cum  morte,  et  cum  inferno  foedus  inierat  (Isa.  xxviii.  15); 
ideoque,  juxta  Ezechielem,  factus  est  perditio,  et  non  subsistit  in 
aeternum." 

1  Epist.  clxxviii. 


MONASTICISM.  281 

count  himself  a  shepherd  of  souls  than  a  manipulator 
of  the  common  earthly  affairs  which  the  impure  ambi- 
tions of  men  urged  upon  his  attention. ^  Looking  back 
to  the  era  of  primitive  simplicity,  he  exclaimed :  "  O 
that  it  were  granted  me,  ere  I  die,  to  see  the  Church 
as  it  was  in  the  ancient  days,  when  the  apostles  let  out 
their  nets  to  enclose,  not  silver  and  gold,  but  souls. 
How  do  I  desire  that  you  may  be  heir  to  the  voice  of 
him  whose  seat  you  have  obtained.  '  Thy  money,'  he 
said,  '  perish  with  thee.'  O  voice  of  thunder  !  O  voice 
of  magnificence  and  might !  at  the  terror  of  which  all 
who  hate  Sion  are  confounded  and  turned  back."  ^ 

The  practical  rather  than  the  speculative  was  the 
supreme  interest  with  Bernard.  His  talent  fitted  him 
for  edifying  the  heart  more  than  for  quickening  the 
intellect.  He  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  examples 
in  mediaeval  times  of  an  ardent,  subjective  type  of 
piety.  He  ranks  with  those  mystics  in  whom  a  native 
good  sense  curbed  the  imagination,  and  turned  the 
mind  into  the  channel  of  devotion,  instead  of  allowing 
the  inward  ardor  to  expend  itself  in  the  vagaries  of 
theosophic  dogmatism.  He  was  not,  indeed,  opposed 
to  speculation  as  such ;  but  his  predominant  interest 
in  the  practical  made  him  jealous  of  its  course.  It 
must  be  strictly  subordinated,  as  he  contended,  to  the 
established  faith.  He  looked  upon  the  incoming  of 
heresy  as  the  preying  of  a  wolf  upon  the  flock  of  Christ. 
His  principles,  accordingly,  as  well  as  the  summons  of 
urgent  voices,  impelled  him  to  an  unsparing  warfare 
against  those  charged  with  teaching  error. 

Bernard  enters  here  upon  a  field  where  we  follow 
1  De  Consideratione.  ^  Epist.  ccxxxviii. 


282  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

him  with  a  measure  of  reluctance.  He  was  indeed  in 
no  way  behind  his  age  in  point  of  tolerance.  In  his 
endeavor  to  protect  the  Jews  from  the  bigoted  and 
fanatical  violence  of  the  people,  he  showed  a  more 
than  average  humanity.^  But  he  had  little  charity  for 
those  who  brought  forward  novelties  of  opinion,  and 
considered  it  entirely  proper  to  put  them  to  silence. 
Hence  his  part,  not  to  mention  other  instances,  in 
securing  the  condemnation  of  Abelard,  the  most  at- 
tractive teacher  and  the  most  independent  thinker  of 
the  twelfth  centur}^ 

Abelard's  views  had  already  been  challenged,  and 
he  had  suffered  enough  to  break  a  spirit  less  elastic 
than  his,  when  Bernard  entered  the  lists  against  him. 
What  now  was  the  guilt  of  the  great  teacher  and  dia- 
lectician, in  the  view  of  the  devout  monk  ?  His  expo- 
sition of  certain  individual  doctrines  was  looked  upon 
as  erroneous  ;  still  it  was  his  spirit  and  method  that 
were  specially  obnoxious.  Bernard  regarded  Abelard 
as  the  representative  of  a  daring,  rationalistic  specu- 
lation, which,  following  its  own  bent,  would  inevitably 
lead  far  away  from  the  simplicity  of  the  faith  and  give 
over  its  most  sacred  mysteries  to  reckless  and  vulo-ar 

t.'  o 

manipulation.  "  The  faith  of  the  simple,"  he  writes  in 
his  complaint,  "  is  brought  to  scorn,  the  secrets  of  God 
are  torn  open,  questions  respecting  the  highest  subjects 
are  discussed  with  reckless  freedom,  the  fathers  are 
insulted  because  they  deemed  that  such  things  should 
be  rather  guarded  from  inspection  than  solved.  So  the 
human  mind  usurps  dominion  over  everything,  reserv- 
ing nothing  to  faith.     Attempting  things  too  high  and 

i  Epist.  ccclxiii.,  ccclxv. 


MONA  S  TI CISM.  283 

too  profound  for  its  faculties,  and  rushing  into  the 
divine,  it  profanes  sacred  things,  instead  of  disclosing 
them,  and  does  not  so  much  open  the  closed  and  the 
sealed  as  tear  it  asunder.  Whatever  it  does  not  find 
penetrable  to  its  understanding,  it  thinks  of  no  account, 
and  disdains  to  believe."  ^  A  spirit  is  begotten  which 
refuses  to  see  anything  through  a  glass  darkly,  and 
presumptuously  claims  the  prerogative  to  look  upon  all 
things  face  to  face. 

Abelard  had  asserted  the  rights  of  free  inquiry,  had 
maintained  that  the  faith  which  too  readily  accepts  a 
tenet  is  superficial,  that  doubt,  in  so  far  as  it  leads  to 
investigation,  is  the  needful  antecedent  of  genuine  faith. 
He  advocated  the  claims  of  criticism.  To  Bernard 
criticism  of  the  sacred  things  of  religion  seemed  akin 
to  sacrilege.  ""  The  faith  of  the  pious,"  says  he,  "  be- 
lieves, and  dissects  not.  But  this  man,  to  whom  God 
Himself  is  a  suspicious  witness,  will  believe  nothing 
unless  he  has  previously  dissected  the  subject  with  the 
reason.  And  while  the  prophet  says,  '  Unless  ye  believe 
ye  shall  not  understand,'  he  on  the  other  hand  scouts  a 
voluntary  faith  as  levity."  ^  Charging  his  opponent  with 
robbing  faith  of  all  certitude,  Bernard  exclaims:  "But 
God  forbid  that  we  should  think  as  he  does,  that  there 
is  anything  in  our  faith  or  hope  which  hangs  on  a 
doubtful  opinion.  Rather  let  us  hold  that  the  whole 
of  it  is  grounded  on  certain,  solid  truth,  inculcated 
divinely  by  oracles  and  miracles,  established  and  conse- 
crated by  the  child-birth  of  the  Virgin,  by  the  blood  of 

1  Epist.  clxxxviii.  Compare  Epist.  cxci.,  cxcii.,  cxciii.,  cccxxxii., 
cccxxxvi. 

2  Epist.  cccxxxviii. 


284  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH.  M 


the  Redeemer,  by  the  glory  of  the  resurrection.     These  \A 

testimonies  have  been  made  too  credible  to  allow  of 
doubt.  And  if  they  fail  in  any  measure,  the  Spirit  it- 
self bears  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  the  sons 
of  God.  How  then  shall  one  dare  to  call  faith  opinion, 
except  he  who  has  not  yet  received  that  Spirit,  who 
knows  not  the  Gospel  or  counts  it  a  fable  ?  '  I  know 
whom  1  have  believed,  and  am  certain,'  exclaims  the 
apostle;  and  you  whisper  to  me,  'Faith  is  opinion.' 
You  prate  to  me  about  the  ambiguity  of  that  than  which 
nothing  can  be  more  certain."  ^ 

Bernard  in  this  does  injustice ;  for  Abelard  never 
meant  to  identify  faith  in  its  maturity  with  mere  opin- 
ion. The  champion  of  orthodoxy  was  quite  too  head- 
long in  his  polemic.  Still  his  language  may  serve  to 
indicate  an  important  difference  in  the  standpoint  of  the 
two  men.  Abelard  was  inclined  to  say,  Investigate 
first,  and  believe  afterwards.  Bernard  said,  '  Believe 
at  once,  and  the  power  of  this  faith  will  bring  the 
truth  within  the  certain  grasp  of  the  soul.  Each  had 
truth  on  his  side ;  neither  had  the  whole  truth.  If 
Abelard  allowed  too  little  to  that  humble,  trustful  spirit 
which  becomes  a  medium  of  divine  enlightenment,  Ber- 
nard conceded  too  little  to  that  critical  temper  which 
puts  the  mind  on  guard  against  the  passive  acceptance 
of  error.  But  whatever  the  merits  of  the  controversy, 
Bernard  was  too  influential  with  the  authorities  not  to 
gain  his  cause  ;  and  the  highest  grace  awaiting  his 
humbled  and  heart-broken  rival  was  the  privilege  of 
spending  his  last  days  in  the  quiet  of  the  renowned 
cloister  of  Cluny. 

1  Tractatus  de  Erroribus  Abaelardi,  cap.  iv. 


MONASTICISM.  285 

One  of  the  last  of  the  great  enterprises  in  which 
Bernard  engaged  was  the  preaching  of  the  second  cru- 
sade. Here  he  found  a  theatre  of  activity  pre-eminently 
suited  to  his  talents.  Thousands  took  the  cross  in  an- 
swer to  his  appeals  in  France  and  Germany.  Many,  it 
is  stated,  who  could  not  understand  one  word  of  what 
he  said,  were  moved  to  tears  by  his  tone  and  appear- 
ance. The  German  Emperor,  Conrad,  though  stub- 
bornly opposed  to  the  crusade  at  first,  could  not  resist 
*the  words  of  its  eloquent  advocate.  In  the  popular 
belief,  miracles  also  came  in  to  sanction  the  cause,  and 
a  multitude  of  instances  are  reported  in  which  the 
saintly  monk  is  said  to  have  cured  the  sick  and  the 
infirm.  Bernard  himself,  while  he  cautions  against 
the  overvaluation  of  miracles  or  of  their  agent,  allows 
that  such  were  wrought  by  his  hands,  or  in  answer  to 
his  prayers.  His  sincerity  in  this  matter  ought  in 
no  wise  to  be  called  in  question.  At  the  same  time, 
it  is  but  right  to  judge  of  the  facts  in  the  light  of 
mediseval  credulity,  and  with  due  reference  to  the 
marvellous  power  which  an  enthusiastic  faith  natu- 
rally commands  over  certain  forms  of  bodily  distem- 
per. The  preaching  of  the  crusade  was  an  eminent 
success  ;  but  the  crusade  itself  was  a  miserable  fail- 
ure. Some  were  disposed  to  severe  criticism  of  the 
preacher  who  had  talked  with  such  assurance  of  vic- 
tory. Bernard  bore  the  opprobrium  with  great  calm- 
ness. While,  on  the  one  hand,  he  called  attention  to 
the  fact  that  God's  judgments  are  apt  to  be  inscru- 
table, he  suggested,  on  the  other,  that  an  explanation 
of  failure  might  be  found  in  the  sins  and  follies  of 
the  crusaders.     Their  conduct,  like  that  of  the  Israel- 


286  THE  MEDLEVAL   CHURCH. 

ites  who  started  for  Canaan,  had  nullified  the  words 
of  promise.^ 

Death  came  to  Bernard,  in  1153,  as  a  most  welcome 
guest.  Only  twenty  years  elapsed  before  the  authority 
of  the  Church  enrolled  him  in  the  list  of  saints.  The 
canonizing  sentence  but  gave  expression  to  the  sponta- 
neous verdict  of  the  age  ;  and  later  times  can  sympa- 
thize in  a  measure  with  that  verdict.  No  doubt,  faults 
can  be  found  in  the  life  of  Saint  Bernard.  His  strong 
nature  occasionally  inclined  him  to  an  over-positive  and 
arbitrary  course.  But  he  had  great  and  lustrous  vir- 
tues. The  humility  with  which  be  prostrated  self  be- 
fore God  rests  like  a  halo  upon  a  man  of  such  strength 
and  popularity.  As  has  been  testified  by  his  familiar 
friends,  he  walked  amid  the  plaudits  and  praises  of 
men  as  one  in  a  dream.  No  false  elation  came  from 
earthly  successes.  His  most  ardent  desires  reached 
toward  higher  things.  With  strong  aspirings  his  heart 
went  out  after  God,  and  delighted  above  all  things  in 
fellowship  with  Him.  "  The  soul,"  says  he,  "  which 
once  has  received  from  the  Lord  the  art  and  the  dispo- 
sition to  retire  into  itself,  and  in  its  inmost  depths  to 
sigh  after  the  presence  of  God,  and  to  seek  ever  His 
face,  —  I  know  not  w^hether  such  a  soul  would  consider 
it  a  greater  punishment  to  endure  for  a  season  the  pains 
of  hell,  than  to  turn  back  after  it  has  tasted  the  blessed- 
ness of  such  a  spiritual  life  to  the  pleasures,  or  rather 
the  pains,  of  the  flesh."  ^ 

Morison,  in  his  interesting  biography  of  Bernard, 
speaks  thus  of  a  resemblance  between  him  and  Luther : 

1  De  Consideratione. 

2  Neander,  Der  heilige  Bernhard,  p.  59. 


MONASTICISM.  287 

"  To  any  one  who  can  look  below  the  surface,  to  any 
one  who  can  see  through  the  varying  costume  which 
each  successive  age  throws  over  the  deeper  character- 
istics of  human  nature,  there  will  appear  much  in  the 
Abbot  of  Clairvaux  to  remind  of  the  Saxon  Reformer  : 
the  same  vehemence,  not  to  say  hastiness  of  temper ; 
the  same  fearless  disregard  of  consequences  in  de- 
nouncing falsehood  and  sin ;  the  same  dauntless  cour- 
age ;  the  same  humility  and  gentleness,  under  all  their 
divine  wrath." 

II.  —  THE   MENDICANT   OKDERS. 

By  this  title  our  attention  is  turned  to  two  great 
fraternities  which  became  powerful  factors  in  the  me- 
diaeval Church.  There  were  indeed  more  than  two 
mendicant  orders.  The  Carmelites,  founded  on  Mount 
Carmel  by  Berthold  of  Calabria,  near  the  middle  of  the 
twelfth  century,  took  the  mendicant  constitution  after 
their  transference  to  the  West  in  the  next  century. 
The  Augustines  and  the  Servites,  organized  in  the 
middle  portion  of  the  thirteenth  century,  were  also 
mendicant  orders.  But  the  relative  prominence  of  the 
Franciscans^  and  Dominicans^  was  so  great,  that  the 
term  became  pre-eminently  a  designation  of  these  two 
fraternities. 

Like  other  great  movements,  the  rise  of  the  mendi- 
cant orders  was  due  to  something  more  than  individual 
eccentricities.  They  met  certain  urgent  demands  of 
the  age,  — the  call  on  the  part  of  a  large  class  of  peo- 
ple for  teachers  of  an  unworldly  mien,  and  the  need  of 

1  Called  originally  Fratres  Minores.  2  Fratres  Praedicatores. 


288  THE  MEDIyEVAL   CHURCH. 

more  earnest  and  frequent  preaching.  At  the  same 
time,  individual  eccentricity  or  genius  had  not  a  little 
to  do  with  the  rise  of  these  orders.  The  founders  were 
men  of  marked  individuality,  well  fitted  to  draw  oth- 
ers to  themselves,  and  to  leave  upon  them  their  own 
impress. 

Francis  of  Assisi,  from  whom  the  Franciscans  took 
their  name,  was  born  in  1182.  The  indulged  son  of  a 
well  to  do  merchant,  he  gave  himself  freely  to  the  in- 
toxication of  worldly  pleasures  till  he  had  reached  the 
age  of  early  manhood.  No  promise  of  his  future  career 
had  as  yet  appeared,  unless  it  might  be  found  in  the 
imaginative  temper  and  generous  impulses  of  the  gay 
reveller.  But  sickness  induced  thoughtfulness,  and  by 
the  radical  transition  agreeable  to  such  ardent  natures 
he  passed  to  an  extreme  renunciation  of  the  world. 
"What  came  into  his  hand  speedily  passed  out  in  alms. 
On  one  occasion  his  love  of  giving  so  mastered  his  sense 
of  legal  right,  that  he  offered  in  benefactions  all  the 
proceeds  which  he  had  collected  from  selling  a  roll  of 
his  father's  goods.  The  enraged  father  complained 
of  the  prodigality  of  his  son,  and  brought  him  before 
the  bishop  to  enforce  the  demand  for  reimbursement. 
Francis  not  only  agreed  to  the  demand,  but,  stripping 
himself  naked,  gave  back  the  very  clothes  which  he 
was  wearing.  Henceforth  poverty  was  his  beloved 
bride,  the  most  wretched  and  degraded  of  men  the 
objects  of  his  peculiar  sympathy  and  care.  Lepers  and 
beggars  received  his  choicest  attentions.  Assailed  with 
revilings,  he  reviled  not  again.  Taunts  and  insinua- 
tions of  insanity  left  no  bitterness  in  his  humble  and 
gentle  mind.     With  imperturbable  good  nature  he  bore 


MONA  S  TIC  ISM.  289 

every  affront,  conquering  opposition  witli  such  effective 
weapons  as  patience,  sympathy,  and  self-abnegation. 
His  peculiar  dower  might  be  described  as  a  loving  sym- 
pathy. The  full  tide  of  his  good  will  poured  itself 
forth  upon  all  objects.  Birds,  beasts,  and  even  inani- 
mate things,  were  reckoned  by  his  sensitive  heart  within 
the  circle  of  fellowship,  and  betimes  were  honored  with 
the  name  of  brothers  and  sisters.  "  That  which  irre- 
sistibly attracts  us  to  this  man,"  says  Hagenbach,  "  in 
spite  of  his  extravagance  and  his  mistake  in  the  choice 
of  means,  is  the  loving  compassion  which  lay  at  the 
basis  of  all  his  doing  and  striving.  It  is  the  same  com- 
passion which  meets  us  later  in  a  Wesley,  a  Francke,  a 
Pestalozzi,  an  Oberlin,  a  Miss  Fry,  an  Amalie  Sieve- 
king,  a  Florence  Nightingale,  and  in  all  the  men  and 
women  who  in  different  times  and  ways  have  taken  up 
the  cause  of  perishing,  indigent,  neglected  humanity."  ^ 

Total  renunciation  of  the  world  —  all  its  display, 
riches,  and  diversions  —  and  active  benevolence  were 
the  watchwords  of  Francis.  In  his  estimate,  practical 
usefulness  took  precedence  of  contemplation.  Theo- 
logical learning  was  relegated  to  a  subordinate  place. 
Mystical  devotion  going  hand  in  hand  with  incessant 
activity,  was  his  ideal  of  Christian  service.  His  piety 
was  of  the  heart,  rather  than  of  the  head,  and  the 
glowing  visions  of  the  imagination  were  more  to  him 
than  logical  discrimination. 

Among  all  the  themes  of  religion,  Francis  dwelt  with 
most  passionate  ardor  upon  that  of  Christ  crucified.  A 
pious  man,  it  is  said,  once  found  him  sighing  and  weep- 
ing.    Supposing  him  to  be  suffering  from  some  grievous 

1  Kirchengeschichte,  Band  ii.  Vorlesung  xxi. 
19 


V 


290  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

bodily  affliction,  he  asked  him  why  he  wept.  "  I  weep," 
replied  Francis,  "  for  the  suffering  of  my  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  in  consideration  of  which  I  am  not  ashamed  to 
go  weeping  aloud  through  the  whole  world."  ^ 

From  such  a  spirit  a  contagious  influence  naturally 
went  forth.  Disciples  began  to  gather.  In  1209  Inno- 
cent III.  was  asked  to  approve  the  new  order.  The 
answer,  if  not  a  positive  sanction,  gave  Francis  at  least 
a  negative  permission  to  go  forward  in  his  project.  In 
1223  the  rule  of  the  order  was  elaborated,  and  Honorius  «) 

III.  gave  it  his  approbation.  Several  years  before  this, 
Francis  had  instituted   an  order  of  nuns,  called  from  f'J 

the  first  abbess  the  order  of  Saint  Clara.^ 

Ridicule  had  now  given  place  to  admiration.  The 
apostle  of  poverty  was  greeted  with  a  veneration  which 
was  in  no  wise  careful  to  stop  short  of  worship.  His 
biographer,  Thomas  of  Celano,  says :  ''  So  great  was 
the  confidence  of  men  and  women,  so  great  their  de- 
votion toward  the  saint  of  God,  that  he  counted  himself 
happy  who  was  but  able  to  touch  his  garment.  As  he 
approached  a  city,  the  clergy,  the  townsmen  and  the 
women  gave  vent  to  their  joy,  the  youth  shouted  their 
plaudits,  and  often  went  forth  to  meet  him  playing 
upon  instruments  of  music  and  bearing  branches  of 
trees."  ^ 

Francis  died  in  1226.  Two  years  later  came  the 
decree  of  canonization.  As  an  object  of  popular 
idolatry,  he  could  not  well  escape  a  reputation  for 
miracles.     In  fact,  he  had  not  been  long  in  his  grave 

1  Karl  Hase,  Franz  von  Assisi. 

2  Primarily,  Ordo  Dominarura  Pauperum. 

3  Quoted  by  Gieseler,  Kirchengeschichte,  §  68. 


MONASTICISM.  291 

when  the  industry  of  the  legend-monger  had  enriched, 
or  rather  deformed,  the  story  of  his  life  with  a  multi- 
tude of  marvels.  In  the  *'  Liber  Conformitatum,"  writ- 
ten by  Bartholomew  of  Pisa  in  the  fourteenth  century, 
forty  points  of  comparison  between  Francis  and  Christ 
are  enumerated,  and  such  items  of  superior  glory  in  the 
record  of  the  former  are  noted  as  that  he  was  trans- 
figured twenty  times  instead  of  once,  and,  in  place  of 
suffering  for  a  short  interval,  bore  the  wounds  of  cru- 
cifixion for  two  years.  Bartholomew's  book  was  ap- 
proved by  the  General  Chapter  of  the  order,  though, 
if  they  had  wished  to  challenge  its  enormous  fictions, 
they  had  only  to  refer  to  the  three  biographies  written 
within  forty  years  of  the  death  of  Francis.^  As  these 
were  composed  in  the  spirit  of  an  ardent  hero-worship, 
they  may  be  presumed  to  have  neglected  no  authentic 
materials  of  glorification.  Hase  renders  the  following 
verdict  on  the  subject :  "  Where  miracles  are  narrated 
of  Francis  which  unmistakably  contradict  the  divinely 
appointed  laws  of  nature,  trustworthy  historical  tradi- 
tion is  wanting,  as  is  the  case  with  all  the  miracles 
in  the  Liber  Conformitatum,  which  are  made  to  bear 
away  the  palm  from  the  marvellous  doings  of  Christ. 
To  be  sure,  we  read  in  the  account  of  Bonaventura, 
that  a  blind  person  at  Assisi,  whose  eyes  had  been  put 
out  in  punishment  for  theft,  had  eyes  restored  to  him, 
only  somewhat  smaller  than  the  original,  within  three 
daj^s  of  the  time  that  he  approached  the  altar  of  the 
saint  and  invoked  his  help  ;  and  that  this  had  been 
sworn   to   by  a   knight  and   a  monk.      However,  the 

1  Those  by  Thomas  of  Celano,  the  Tres  Socii,  and  Bonaventura. 


292  THE  MEDL^VAL    CHURCH. 

whole  story  was  first  smuggled  into  the  work  of  Bona- 
ventura  after  his  death." 

The  mh'acle  which  above  all  others  was  claimed  to 
establish  the  peculiar  glory  of  Francis  was  the  miracle 
of  the  stigmata,  —  the  marks  upon  hands,  feet,  and 
side,  analogous  to  those  on  the  person  of  the  Redeemer. 
The  wounds,  it  was  said,  were  impressed  upon  his  body 
immediately  after  he  had  seen  a  vision  of  a  seraph,  be- 
tween whose  wings  was  discerned  the  form  of  a  cruci- 
fied man.  This  occurred  two  years  before  the  death 
of  the  saint,  but  his  carefulness  to  conceal  the  singular 
honor  prevented  it  from  being  very  largely  observed 
till  after  his  decease.  That  the  wounds  were  found  at 
least  upon  the  dead  body  of  Francis,  seems  to  be  quite 
strongly  attested.  How  they  came  there,  whether  as 
the  result  of  the  mind's  reaction  upon  a  peculiarly 
sensitive  organism,  of  self-mutilation  in  a  species  of 
ecstasy  or  mental  aberration,  or  of  pious  fraud,  is  a 
question  that  is  still  open  to  speculation.^ 

Dominic,  the  founder  of  the  rival  order,  was  born  of 
Spanish  parents  in  Old  Castile,  in  1170.  At  the  age 
of  fifteen  he  commenced  to  study  at  the  University  of 
Palencia  in  Leon.  A  memorial  of  his  student  life  is 
preserved  in  the  story  of  the  humane  zeal  which 
prompted  him  to  sell  his  books  that  he  might  con- 
tribute the  more  to  those  suffering  from  famine.  "  How 
can  I  study,"  said  he,  "  from  dry  parchments,  when 
there  are  human  beings  dying  of  hunger?"  ^  After 
spending  ten  years  at  the  university,  in  response  to  the 

1  See  Ease's  discussion  of  the  subject. 

2  Lacordaire,  Life  of  Saint  Dominic;   translation  by  Mrs.  Edward 
Hazeland. 


MONASTICISM.  293 

wish  of  the  Bishop  of  Osma,  he  joined  his  chapter  of 
canons-reguhir.  In  1203  a  new  field  of  activity  was 
opened  to  him,  as,  journeying  on  an  embassy  with  the 
Bishop  of  Osma,  he  had  occasion  to  observe  the  serious 
spread  of  heresy  in  the  southern  part  of  France.  The 
devout  and  sagacious  bishop  saw  that  heretics  who 
made  so  much  of  evangelical  poverty  were  not  likely  to 
be  converted  by  the  methods  of  the  papal  legates,  who 
travelled  in  state  through  the  country.  The  appeal  to 
such  men,  as  he  maintained,  must  be  commended  by 
the  humble  and  self-denying  appearance  of  the  agent. 
At  his  earliest  opportunity,  he  put  his  ideas  into  prac- 
tice, journeying  together  with  Dominic  through  the 
land,  and  endeavoring  by  earnest  preaching,  disputa- 
tion, and  conversation  to  win  the  people  back  to  the 
Catholic  faith. 

The  death  of  the  Bishop  of  Osma  soon  left  Dominic 
with  the  chief  responsibility  in  the  work  which  had 
been  inaugurated.  Meanwhile  other  weapons  than  the 
persuasions  of  the  preacher  were  summoned  against  the 
heretics.  The  swords  of  Simon  de  Montfort  and  the 
fierce  crusaders  who  followed  his  standard  commenced 
the  work  of  extermination.  Dominic  remained  upon 
the  field,  but  in  what  relation  to  the  severities  prac- 
tised is  not  clearly  revealed.  Some  have  concluded 
that  he  was  a  pattern  of  mercy.  Others  have  blamed 
or  applauded  him  as  bearing  in  his  bosom  the  spirit  of 
a  grand-inquisitor,  and  as  anticipating  the  cruel  meth- 
ods of  the  dread  tribunal.  The  more  probable  verdict 
is,  that  he  neither  opposed  severe  measures  nor  took  a 
conspicuous  part  in  their  execution.  No  example  of 
extraordinary  rigor   in   their   founder   was   needed   to 


294  THE    MEDLEVAL    CHURCH. 

prepare  tlie  Dominicans  for  their  mission  of  unsparing 
warfare  against  heresy.  The  fact  that  the  defence  and 
propagation  of  the  orthodox  faith  were  made  from  the 
outset  a  special  feature  in  their  vocation  naturally 
tended  toward  that  proficiency  in  heresy-hunting,  and 
that  zest  for  repressive  measures,  which  made  them  the 
fittest  agents  of  the  Inquisition.  Still,  the  inflexible 
zeal  of  a  Dominic  lay  much  nearer  to  the  arts  of  a  per- 
secutor than  the  irrepressible  sympathy  of  a  Francis. 
There  is  a  measure  of  truth  in  the  following  contrast, 
which  is  drawn  by  Hagenbach  :  "  Both  belong  to  South- 
ern Europe,  to  the  Romanic  world ;  but  in  the  veins  of 
the  one  courses  the  blood  of  the  earnest  methodical 
Spaniard,  in  the  other  that  of  the  emotional  Italian. 
Both  are  strict  devotees,  and  capable  of  the  greatest 
sacrifice  ;  but  out  of  the  features  of  Dominic  speaks 
the  imposing  rigor  of  an  inquisitor,  out  of  those  of 
Francis  the  heart-subduing  passion  of  one  who  makes 
a  pastime  of  self-renunciation.  Dominic  was  of  a  hie- 
rarchical, Francis  of  a  poetical  nature  ;  the  one  dispo- 
sition could  degenerate  into  a  destroying  tyranny  over 
men's  faith,  the  other  into  sectarianism  and  cynic  rude- 
ness and  eccentricity.  The  fire  which  burned  in  Dom- 
inic, although  at  the  beginning  a  fire  of  love,  reminds 
in  its  farther  spread  all  too  much  of  the  pyres  which 
the  Church  prepared  for  the  heretics  ,*  in  connection 
with  Francis,  from  beginning  to  end  we  think  of  a 
flaming  heart,  which  consumes  itself  in  an  enthusi- 
astic, never-satisfied  love,  which,  even  if  it  is  pushed 
beyond  the  point  of  nature,  does  not  deny  its  noble 
origin."  ^ 

1  Band  ii.  Vorlesung  xx. 


MONASTICISM.  295 

The  humble  style  and  the  devout  zeal  with  which 
Dominic  conducted  his  ministry  are  thus  pictured  by 
Lacordaire  ;  "  He  travelled  on  foot,  a  staff  in  his  hand, 
and  a  bundle  of  clothes  upon  his  shoulder.  On  ap- 
proaching a  town  or  village  he  would  put  on  his  shoes, 
keeping  them  on  until  he  had  passed  through.  He 
carried  no  money  with  him,  leaving  himself  to  the 
mercy  of  his  fellow-creatures  and  of  Providence. 
Sometimes  he  begged  his  bread  from  door  to  door, 
always  humbly  thanking  the  donors,  occasionally  even 
on  his  knees.  He  slept  on  straw  or  on  a  plank,  and 
without  undressing.  He  never  entered  any  house  as 
guest  without  first  praying  in  a  church,  if  one  was  to 
be  found  in  that  locality.  After  finishing  his  repast, 
he  withdrew  to  a  room  in  order  to  read  St.  Matthew's 
Gospel  and  Saint  Paul's  Epistles,  which  he  always  car- 
ried with  him.  After  sitting  down,  he  opened  his  book, 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  began  to  read  atten- 
tively. So  enraptured  was  he  by  the  Divine  Word  that 
he  appeared  beside  himself ;  gesticulated  as  if  holding 
converse  with  some  one  ;  then  appeared  to  be  listen- 
ing, arguing,  and  contending ,  alternately  laughed  and 
wept ;  then  after  gazing  intently  would  cast  down  his 
eyes,  soliloquize,  and  strike  his  breast.  From  reading 
he  passed  to  prayer,  from  meditation  to  contemplation, 
at  times  lovingly  kissing  the  book,  as  if  grateful  to  it 
for  the  happiness  it  conferred.  .  .  .  He  preached  to  all 
whom  he  met  in  the  roads,  towns,  villages,  chateaux, 
and  monasteries." 

Dominic's  first  institute  was  a  cloister  for  women  at 
Prouille.  In  1215  the  Pope  gave  his  assent  to  tlie 
proposition  to  found  an  order  of  preaching  friars,  only 


296  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

requiring  Dominic  to  choose  some  established  rule.^ 
The  rule  chosen  was  that  of  St.  Augustine,  as  being 
very  general  in  its  nature,  and  allowing  of  much  option 
in  details.  Honorius  confirmed  the  order  in  1216,  and 
granted  some  special  privileges.  The  mendicant  con- 
stitution was  not  formally  adopted  at  the  start.  First 
in  1220  the  General  Chapter  voted  the  renunciation  of 
all  property.  The  death  of  Dominic  occurred  in  the 
following  year,  and  in  1233  sentence  of  canonization 
was  passed. 

The  two  mendicant  orders  were  much  the  same  in 
constitution  and  methods.  Each  had  its  general,  as 
supreme  executive,  its  assembly  of  delegates  meeting 
at  stated  intervals,  its  provincials  or  superintendents 
of  provinces,  and  its  priors  or  guardians,  who  presided 
over  single  congregations  of  the  fraternity.  Each  had 
also  its  lay  branch,  or  Tertiaries,  as  they  were  called. 
The  men  and*  women  who  were  enrolled  in  this  con- 
tinued to  live  in  relations  of  marriage  and  ordinary 
business,  only  engaging  to  dress  with  becoming  plain- 
ness, to  avoid  distracting  and  questionable  amusements, 
to  employ  themselves  in  devotions,  and  to  practise 
fasting  as  their  condition  might  allow.  As  a  means 
of  extending  the  influence  of  the  mendicant  orders, 
the  lay  branch  was  of  great  importance.  Speaking  of 
the  Franciscan  Tertiaries,  Hase  remarks  :  "  This  third 
order,  for  which  every  chamber  might  become  a  cell 
and  every  house  a  cloister,  had  an  immeasurable  exten- 

1  It  is  said  that  Innocent  was  moved  to  grant  the  request  for  the  new 
order  by  a  vision,  in  wliich  he  saw  Dominic  supporting  with  outstretched 
hands  the  falling  Lateran  church.  (Ptolemaeus  Lucensis,  Hist.  Eccl., 
xxi.  17.) 


MONASTICISM.  297 

sion,  from  the  royal  pair  down  to  the  masses.  But  it 
was  especially  the  middle  rank  of  citizens  that  supplied 
recruits  by  the  thousand  and  the  hundred  thousand ; 
and  with  good  reason,  since  the  order  gave  to  it  security 
against  the  powerful  of  this  world,  as  well  as  promise 
of  the  heavenly  riches." 

In  their  design,  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans  both 
exhibited  a  noteworthy  departure  from  the  primitive 
idea  of  monasticism.  Their  leading  aim  was  not  private 
edification,  the  salvation  of  the  individual  monk  by  iso- 
lation from  a  corrupt  and  tempting  world.  It  was 
rather  activity  in  the  world,  —  constant  activity  in  the 
midst  of  the  very  world  which  w^as  renounced,  even  to 
the  point  of  beggary.  They  were  to  overrun  the 
world  with  a  preaching  fraternity.  In  the  first  instance, 
the  Dominicans  contemplated  especially  preaching  to 
heretics ;  the  Franciscans,  preaching  to  the  Moham- 
medans. But  so  great  was  the  need  of  Catholic  Chris- 
tendom itself  in  this  regard,  that  they  at  once  broke 
through  the  limits  of  their  special  fields.  Every  region 
was  traversed  by  their  itinerant  ministry.  Earnest 
bishops  welcomed  them  as  far  more  competent  than  the 
parish  priests  to  edify  and  stimulate  the  people.  The 
Popes  saw  in  them  effective  agents  for  sustaining  their 
own  supremacy,  and  accordingly  gave  them  ample  free- 
dom of  action,  releasing  them  in  large  measure  from 
episcopal  authority,  and  guaranteeing  them  the  right 
to  preach  and  to  hear  confessions  wherever  they  might 
come. 

This  excess  of  influence  and  prerogative  naturally 
Kad  a  double  effect.  On  the  one  hand,  it  provoked 
the  jealousy  of  the  secular  priests,  and  also   of  other 


298  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

classes  of  monks,  who  were  compelled  to  see  themselves 
so  largely  supplanted  by  these  intruders.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  tended  to  arrogance  and  corruption  in  the 
orders  themselves.  As  an  example  of  the  complaints 
which  began  to  be  urged  against  them,  we  may  take 
the  severe  language  of  Matthew  Paris.  He  charges 
them  with  having  degenerated  more  in  forty  years  than 
orders  previously  established  had  in  three  or  four  hun- 
dred years.  ''  These  are  they,"  he  says,  ''  who  in  their 
sumptuous  edifices,  which  they  dail}^  enlarge,  and  within 
their  high  walls,  lay  up  incalculable  treasures,  impu- 
dently transgressing  the  injunction  of  poverty  and  the 
fundamental  rule  of  their  own  profession,  even  as  was 
prophesied  by  the  German  Hildegard.  To  the  injury 
and  loss  of  the  ordinary  pastors,  they  thrust  themselves 
upon  the  great  and  the  wealthy  in  the  hour  of  death, 
greedy  for  a  share  of  their  abundant  riches,  extorting 
confessions  and  secret  testaments,  commending  only 
themselves  and  their  order,  and  claiming  superiority  to 
all  others.  Hence  no  one  of  the  faithful  now  believes 
that  he  can  be  saved,  unless  he  is  under  the  guidance 
of  the  Preachers  and  the  Minorites.  In  their  anxiety 
to  acquire  privileges,  they  serve  in  the  courts  of  kings 
and  nobles  as  counsellors,  chamberlains,  treasurers, 
bridesmen,  notaries  of  marriages,  and  agents  of  papal 
extortions.  In  their  sermons  they  indulge  at  one  time 
in  flattery,  at  another  in  biting  censure  ;  they  reveal 
the  secrets  of  the  confessional,  and  run  into  reckless 
accusation."  ^ 

In   another   connection    the   same  writer   speaks    of 
the  elation  of  the  Dominicans  over  privileges  recently 
1  Sub  anno  1243. 


MONASTICISM.  299 

granted  by  the  Pope,  and  pictures  the  arts  b}^  which 
they  sought  a  monopoly  in  the  hearing  of  confessions. 
"  They  proceeded,'*  he  says,  "  to  ask  any  one  they  met, 
*  Hast  thou  confessed  ? '  A  reply  being  given  in  the 
affirmative,  the  inquiry  was,  '  To  whom  ?  '  The  person 
answering,  *  To  my  own  priest,'  it  was  rejoined,  '  And 
who  is  that  ignorant  fellow?  He  has  never  heard  lec- 
tures on  theology,  never  studied  the  decrees,  never 
learned  to  solve  a  question.  They  are  hlind^  and  leaders 
of  the  blind.  Come  to  us,  who  know  how  to  distinguish 
one  phase  of  the  souFs  sickness  from  another,  to  whom 
things  arduous  and  difficult,  to  whom  the  secrets  of 
God,  are  made  manifest.'  "  Many,  it  is  added,  were 
caught  by  such  artifices,  and  confessed  to  the  Domin- 
ican friars,  to  the  neglect  of  their  own  priests,  and 
the  injury  of  the  general  order  and  discipline  of  the 
Church.i 

Umbrage  was  taken,  in  particular,  at  the  attempt  of 
the  Mendicants  to  gain  a  controlling  position  in  the 
universities.  At  Paris  a  determined  resistance  was 
maintained,  under  the  leadership  of  William  of  St. 
Amour.  But  the  aggression  of  the  Mendicants  was 
backed  by  a  cause  not  easy  to  resist.  To  say  nothing 
of  the  support  afforded  by  various  of  the  Popes,  they 
had  the  power  and  prestige  of  superior  learning.  The 
unrivalled  theologians  and  scholastic  philosophers  came 
from  their  ranks,  the  Dominicans  boasting  of  such 
masters  as  Albertus  Magnus  and  Thomas  Aquinas,  and 
the  Franciscans  glorying  in  an  Alexander  Hales,  a 
Bonaventura,  and  a  Duns  Scotus. 

While   becoming  thus  objects  of  jealousy  to  many 

1  Sub  anno  1246. 


800  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

outsiders,  the  two  orders  were  at  the  same  time  envious 
rivals  of  each  other.  One  source  of  the  fictitious  mira- 
cles which  found  place  in  their  annals  was  undoubtedly 
the  desire  of  each  to  prove  its  title  to  a  superior  glory. 
The  temper  of  the  Franciscans  naturally  gave  them  a 
certain  advantage  in  the  race  for  popularity.  Their 
tone  was  freer,  their  piety  more  emotional  and  mystical, 
than  that  of  the  Dominicans,  who  were  the  champions 
of  the  rigid  orthodoxy  of  the  Church.  But  this  advan- 
tage had  its  offsets.  The  freer  spirit  and  the  mystical 
vein  in  the  Franciscans  gave  a  wider  scope  to  vagaries 
in  opinion  and  conduct,  and  so  increased  the  liabilities 
of  division. 

Both  orders  soon  found  it  extremely  difiicult  to  adhere 
strictly  to  mendicancy.  An  impracticable  standard  had, 
in  truth,  been  adopted.  The  Dominicans  virtually  con- 
fessed as  much,  and  explained  their  vow  of  poverty  as 
denoting  only  that  the  individual  could  have  no  pos- 
sessions. The  fraternity,  it  was  agreed,  could  hold 
property  for  the  common  use  of  its  members.  The 
Franciscans  found  greater  difficulty  in  uniting  upon  a 
mitigation  of  their  rule.  One  party,  dating  back  even 
to  the  time  of  Francis,  favored  a  measure  of  relaxation. 
Another  party  insisted  upon  keeping  the  vow  of  poverty 
in  all  strictness.  The  uncompromising  opposition  of 
the  latter  against  tendencies  to  laxity  led  to  various 
schisms,  and  the  history  is  made  complicated  by  such 
names  as  Cajsarins,  Celestines,  Spirituals,  and  Frati- 
celli.  In  some  cases  the  schism  did  not  stop  with  the 
mere  separation  from  the  order.  The  Fraticelli,  for 
example,  were  denounced  as  heretics,  and  regarded  as 
outside  of  the  Catholic  fellowship.     They  seem  to  have 


MONASTICISM.  301 

borrowed  from  Joachim  of  Floris,  and  held  such  enthu- 
siastic notions  respecting  the  age  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as 
came  to  expression  in  the  "  Introduction  to  the  Ever- 
lasting Gospel,"  a  book  condemned  by  the  Pope  in 
1254.  As  it  seemed  to  be  impossible  to  compose  the 
differences  among  the  Franciscans,  the  authorities  finally 
concluded  to  recognize  different  branches  of  the  fra- 
ternity. The  more  rigid  party  was  recognized  by  the 
Council  of  Constance  as  brethren  of  the  stricter  ob- 
servance. They  were  called  accordingly  Observants. 
Those  representing  the  laxer  scheme  were  designated 
Conventuals.  Since  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  the  Franciscan  fraternity  has  appeared  in  three 
divisions,  the  Observants,  the  Conventuals,  and  the 
Capuchins. 

In  the  thirteenth  century,  the  semi-monastic  socie- 
ties of  the  Beguines  and  Beghards  —  the  former  being 
composed  of  women  and  the  latter  of  men  —  appeared 
in  close  association  with  the  Franciscan  sectaries.  In 
some  instances  they  entered  into  the  relation  of  Ter- 
tiaries  to  the  latter.  They  are  supposed  to  have  origi- 
nated in  the  preceding  centur^^  The  fact  that  they 
became  a  refuge  for  those  adjudged  heretics  brought 
the  hand  of  persecution  against  them,  and  many  of 
their  houses  were  suppressed.^ 

1  At  one  time  the  church  authorities  made  but  moderate  distinction 
between  these  associations  and  such  decided  heretics  as  the  Sect  of  the 
Free  Spirit  (see  next  chapter).  But  it  is  concluded  that  this  was  an 
injustice  ;  that,  while  there  was  an  outcropping  of  enthusiasm  among  the 
Beghards  and  Beguines,  they  did  not  share  largely  in  the  peculiar  tenets 
of  the  Sect  of  the  Free  Spirit.  (Hermann  Haupt,  Beitrage  zur  Geschichte 
der  Sekte  von  freien  Geiste  und  des  Beghardentums,  Zeitschrift  fiir 
Kirchengeschichte,  1884-85.) 


CHAPTER   V. 

SCHOLASTICISM   AND   MYSTICISM. 

THE  same  era  which  witnessed  the  culmination  of 
the  papal  theocracy  witnessed  also  the  culmina- 
tion of  scholasticism.  The  thirteenth  century  was  for 
popes  and  schoolmen  alike  the  golden  age.  Alongside 
the  imposing  edifice  of  ecclesiastical  sovereignty  stood 
an  equally  massive  and  imposing  edifice  of  ecclesiastical 
learning.  As  mutually  supporting  fortresses  they  held 
the  field  for  the  established  polity  and  faith.  Ecclesi- 
astical authority  may,  indeed,  have  exhibited  some 
jealousy  toward  its  neighbor.  For  example,  it  looked 
with  a  measure  of  distrust,  in  the  first  instance,  upon 
the  alliance  between  theological  thinking  and  Aristote- 
lianism,  as  this  became  prominent  in  the  early  part  of 
the  thirteenth  century.  But  in  general  mutual  friend- 
liness was  maintained.  Scholasticism  purchased  for 
itself  tolerance  and  patronage  by  sustaining  the  hie- 
rarchical system  in  its  full  length  and  breadth.  Its 
most  renowned  representatives  defined  papal  preroga- 
tives in  terms  which  a  Gregory  VII.  could  hardly  have 
wished  to  amend  ;  and  left  as  little  territory  to  the 
heretic  as  was  conceded  by  the  decrees  of  an  Inno- 
cent III. 

Scholasticism  is  but  another  name  for  the  mediseval 
system  of  dogmatics.     It  was  the  product  of  zeal  for 


i. 


SCHOLASTICISM  AND  MYSTICISM.  303 

the  Catholic  faith,  combined  with  that  species  of  mania 
for  logical  studies  which  seized  upon  the  mind  of 
Europe,  and  dominated  lier  principal  schools,  in  the 
twelfth,  thirteenth,  and  fourteenth  centuries.  The 
scholastic  doctors  had  a  great  ambition  to  formulate 
the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  to  arrange  them  into  an 
elaborate  system,  to  discuss  and  to  defend  them  at 
every  point.  They  were  not  original  investigators  in 
the  more  positive  sense  of  the  term.  Very  little  was 
done  by  them  in  the  way  either  of  Biblical  or  historical 
criticism.  Their  task  was  not  to  test  the  established 
faith,  but  rather  to  state  it  and  to  bring  forward  argu- 
ments in  its  behalf.  This  task  they  executed  with 
marvellous  industry.  Not  content  to  treat  simply  the 
more  salient  points  of  a  theme,  they  taxed  tlieir  in- 
genuity to  deal  with  all  the  questions  which  could  in 
any  way  be  brought  into  relation  to  the  subject  in 
hand.  The  result  was  such  ponderous  tomes  that  the 
modern  investigator  finds  his  courage  severely  tried  by 
the  requirement  to  look  into  their  contents.  As  to  the 
merit  of  these  elaborate  works,  it  must  be  allowed  that 
they  contain  not  a  little  of  profound  and  acute  disqui- 
sition, and  that  in  general  they  are  very  creditable  to 
the  intellectual  vigor  of  their  authors.  At  the  same 
time,  their  worth  is  seriously  abridged  by  the  easy  as- 
sumption of  premises  which  lay  at  the  foundation  of 
scholasticism.  In  default  of  a  critical  examination  at 
the  starting  point,  an  extended  process  of  reasoning  is 
often  made  to  contribute  no  more  substantial  result 
than  a  simple  display  of  mental  gymnastics. 

John  Scotus  Erigena,  in  the  ninth  century,  anticipated 
in  a  measure  the  methods  of  scholasticism.     His  daring 


304  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

speculation,  however,  paid  less  tribute  to  traditional 
dogmas  than  was  rendered  by  the  system  in  general. 
The  succession  in  the  stricter  sense  was  begun  by 
Anselm,  who  won  the  veneration  of  his  age  both  as 
scholar  and  saint.  The  happier  part  of  his  life  was 
spent  in  the  cloister  of  Bee,  where  as  prior,  and  then 
as  abbot,  he  exercised  a  gentle  but  most  effective  sway 
over  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his  monastic  brethren. 
As  the  successor  of  Lanfranc  on  the  archiepiscopal 
throne  of  Canterbury,  he  experienced  much  crucifixion 
by  reason  of  his  conscientious  opposition  to  royal  de- 
mands. In  his  thinking  he  was  bold  and  subtle  within 
the  limits  of  the  traditional  faith.  On  two  subjects  in 
particular  —  the  proof  of  the  Divine  existence  and  the 
atonement  —  his  speculations  have  had  a  marked  in- 
fluence. 

Anselm  closed  his  career  in  the  early  part  of  the 
twelfth  century.  By  the  middle  of  this  centur}^  scho- 
lasticism had  obtained  one  of  its  chief  models  in  Peter 
Lombard's  "  Four  Books  of  Sentences."  In  the  next 
centur}^  and  the  first  years  of  the  following,  it  reached 
its  culmination  in  the  massive  works  of  Alexander 
Hales,  Albertus  Magnus,  Thomas  Aquinas,  Bonaven- 
tura,  and  Duns  Scotus.  Among  the  later  representa- 
tives, a  conspicuous  place  was  held  by  Durandus  and 
Occam. 

The  universities  which  served  as  the  citadels  of  scho- 
lasticism date  from  the  end  of  the  twelfth  and  the  early 
part  of  the  thirteenth  century.^ 

1  See  Heinrich  Deniile,  Die  Entstehung  der  Universitaten  des  Mittel- 
alters ;  S.  S.  Laurie,  Lectures  on  the  Rise  and  Early  Constitutions  of 
Universities. 


SCHOLASTICISM  AND  MYSTICISM.  305 

While  an  intellectual  formalism  was  being  developed 
in  scholasticism,  there  were  those  who  looked  to  other 
means  for  laying  hold  upon  truth,  who  believed  that 
the  higliest  point  of  vision  is  to  be  gained,  not  by  dis- 
cursive reasoning,  but  on  the  wings  of  faith  and  love. 
The  upward  flight  of  the  soul  in  the  rapture  of  devo- 
tion brings,  as  they  conceived,  a  better  knowledge  of 
divine  things  than  any  mere  intellectual  industry  or 
acumen  is  able  to  reach.  The  deepest  truths  are  open 
only  to  intuition,  and  intuition  is  the  function  of  a  puri- 
fied heart,  in  which  selfhood  has  been  consumed  by  the 
flame  of  a  boundless  love.  Such  in  its  better  aspect 
was  mediaeval  mysticism.  It  asserted  the  claims  of  the 
heart  over  against  those  of  the  head.  While  scho- 
lasticism was  engrossed  with  the  task  of  giving  due 
proportion  and  solidity  to  the  walls  of  the  temple,  mys- 
ticism deemed  the  altar  fires  and  the  irradiating  pres- 
ence of  the  responsive  Deity  the  matters  of  principal 
concern. 

In  quite  a  large  proportion  of  instances  mysticism 
stood  in  friendly  relations  with  scholasticism.  Some  of 
the  more  distinguished  exponents  of  the  former  were 
at  the  same  time  representatives  of  the  latter ;  in  other 
words,  they  wrote  scholastic  treatises  after  the  model 
of  the  current  dogmatics,  as  well  as  those  designed  to 
commend  the  mystical  theology.  But  there  were  others 
who  stepped  aside  from  the  current  theology  and  ran 
into  both  speculative  and  practical  aberrations.  We 
have  accordingly  to  deal  with  mysticism  in  two  main 
types,  a  heterodox  and  an  orthodox. 

A  pantheistic  conception  lay  at  the  basis  of  much  of 
the   heterodox   mysticism.     The   ardor  with  which  it 


306  THE  MEDIjEVAL   CHURCH. 

pressed  the  thought  of  the  union  of  the  human  and  the 
divine  urged  beyond  the  notion  of  simple  union  into 
that  of  substantial  identity.  This  appears  to  have  been 
the  case  with  Amalrich  of  Bena,  a  master  of  theology 
at  Paris  about  the  year  1200.  Three  sentences  of  his 
indicate  his  standpoint;  (1)  "God  is  all  things,"  — 
Deus  est  omjiia.  (2)  "  Every  one  is  bound  to  believe 
that  he  is  a  member  of  Christ,  nor  can  one  be  saved 
who  does  not  believe  this,  any  more  than  one  who  does 
not  believe  the  birth  and  suffering  of  Christ  and  the 
other  articles  of  faith."  (3)  ''To  those  who  have 
entered  into  the  state  of  love,  no  sin  is  imputed."  ^ 
Amalrich  was  probably  much  influenced  by  the  writings 
of  Erigena.  Indeed,  the  condemnation  of  Erigena's 
principal  work  in  1225  may  be  imputed  to  the  con- 
nection which  was  supposed  to  subsist  between  it  and 
the  new  heresy.  An  evidence  that  Amalrich  was  cau- 
tious about  giving  public  expression  to  his  more  radical 
views  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  we  read  only  of  his  second 
proposition  being  made  during  his  life  an  occasion  of 
open  complaint.  He  died  in  the  communion  of  the 
Church,  having  been  previously  subjected,  however,  to 
the  humiliation  of  a  recantation,  in  answer  to  the  de- 
cision of  Innocent  III. 

The  views  of  Amalrich  served  as  the  basis  for  an 
association  or  sect.  A  few  years  after  his  death,  it  was 
found  that  several  of  the  French  bishoprics  had  been 
invaded  by  his  disciples.  The  authorities  were  aroused, 
a  search  was  made,  and  by  means  of  the  disclosures  of 
a  pretended  adherent  a  number  were  identified  as  mem- 
bers of  the  sect.     The  Synod  of  Paris  in  1209  or  1210 

^  Quoted  by  Wilhelm  Preger,  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Mystik. 


SCHOLASTICISM  AND  MYSTICISM.  307 

condemned  nine  of  them  to  the  flames,  and  gave  or- 
ders that  the  bones  of  Amah'ich  should  be  cast  out  of 
consecrated  ground. 

The  teachings  of  this  sect,  judging  from  the  repre- 
sentations made,  were  characterized  by  an  undisguised 
pantheism  and  an  ultra  spiritualism.  In  place  of  the 
Catholic  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  and  the  incarnation, 
they  taught  a  succession  of  divine  manifestations  and 
incarnations,  God  being  revealed  as  Father  through 
His  incarnation  in  Abraham,  as  Son  through  His  incar- 
nation in  Mary,  as  Holy  Spirit  through  His  incarna- 
tion in  themselves.  As  having  the  Spirit,  they  thought 
themselves  above  the  need  of  external  rites  and  the 
obligation  of  written  laws.  Spiritual  birth  was  regarded 
as  a  substitute  for  baptism,  and  spiritual  resurrection  as 
a  substitute  for  the  raising  of  the  body  from  the  dead. 

Views  substantially  identical  with  those  described 
were  taught  later  in  the  century,  as  also  in  the  following 
century,  by  those  who  were  denominated  the  Sect  of 
the  New  Spirit,  or  the  Sect  of  the  Free  Spirit.  Very 
likely  these  names  indicate,  not  an  entirely  distinct 
company  of  sectaries,  but  rather  that  which  sprang 
from  Amalrich,  and  which  may  be  supposed  to  have 
survived  the  onslaught  of  the  persecutor,  and  to  have 
spread  into  various  quarters. 

Contemporary  with  Amalrich  there  were  other  rep- 
resentatives of  a  heterodox  mysticism.  The  same  synod 
of  1209,  which  passed  sentence  against  him,  condemned 
also  a  writing  of  David  of  Dinanto.  The  pantheistic 
standpoint  of  David  is  seen  in  his  proposition  that  God 
is  the  material  principle  of  existence,  the  common  sub- 
stratum of  all  things,  or  that  which  is  reached  when 


308  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

subtraction  is  made  of  the  distinguishing  features  of 
individuals.  From  this  point  of  view,  he  drew  a  pe- 
culiar inference  respecting  the  conditions  of  knowing 
God.  Knowledge,  as  he  taught,  implies  an  assimilation 
between  the  knowing  and  the  known.  The  soul,  as 
having  form,  knows  that  which  has  form  by  virtue  of 
community  with  it ;  it  knows  things  by  abstracting 
their  form  and  appropriating  it  to  itself.  But  God  is 
without  form.  There  is  accordingly  no  opportunity  to 
abstract  from  Him.  The  soul  can  come  into  community 
with  Him,  and  so  know  Him,  only  by  renouncing  its 
particular  form,  and  sinking  back  into  the  formless 
essence  which  is  identical  with  God.^  Here  we  have  a 
view  which  entered  not  a  little  into  the  speculative 
mysticism  of  later  times. 

A  species  of  mysticism  less  remote  from  orthodoxy 
had  its  starting  point  in  another  teacher  of  this  era,  the 
Abbot  Joachim,  w^ho  died  in  1201  or  1202.  Joachim 
was  evidently  a  man  of  fervid  piety,  who  saw  with  open 
eyes  the  corruptions  of  the  Church,  and  was  filled  with 
intense  longings  for  its  reformation.  As  a  burning 
desire  easily  becomes  the  parent  of  expectation,  so  was 
it  in  his  case.  He  apprehended  that  the  Church  had 
come  to  the  verge  of  a  new  era  ;  that  having  witnessed 
the  age  of  the  Father  in  the  old  dispensation,  and  that 
of  the  Son  in  the  establishment  of  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation, it  was  now  to  enter  upon  the  final  age,  the 
golden  era  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  reign.  In  the  ushering  in 
of  this  better  time,  a  conspicuous  part  was  to  be  taken 
by  a  purified  monasticism,  a  monasticism  in  which  the 
outward  crucifixion  was  to  be  only  an  index  of  the  self- 
1  Preger's  exposition. 


SCHOLASTICISM  AND  MYSTICISM,  309 

renunciation  abiding  within.  The  teachings  of  Joachim 
were  transmitted  in  particular  by  three  writings,  the 
"  Commentary  on  the  Apocalypse,'*  the  "  Concordance 
of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament,"  and  the  "  Psaltery 
of  Ten  Strings.'*  These  writings  are  to  be  understood 
as  constituting  the  "  Eternal  Gospel "  which  came  to 
be  associated  with  the  name  of  Joachim.^  From  this 
source,  as  previously  noticed,  the  zealots  for  the  vow  of 
absolute  poverty  among  the  Franciscans  drew  largely. 

Among  mystics  of  unchallenged  orthodoxy  were 
numbered  such  celebrated  men  as  Bernard  of  Clair- 
vaux,  Hugo  of  St.  Victor,  Richard  of  St.  Victor,  and 
Bonaventura. 

Bernard  describes  in  different  ways  the  steps  which 
lead  up  to  God.  In  one  instance  he  specifies  three 
species  of  consideration  (^consideratio) ,  or  modes  in 
which  the  mind  may  apply  itself:  the  dispensative^  in 
pursuance  of  which  the  senses  and  the  things  of  sense 
are  employed  in  the  orderly  and  useful  manner  that  is 
esteemed  well  pleasing  to  God ;  the  estimative^  in  which 
one  carefully  scrutinizes  and  ponders  the  various  objects 
that  are  presented,  in  order  by  their  means  to  arrive  at 
a  knowledge  of  God ;  the  speculative^  in  which  the 
mind  gathers  up  its  powers,  leaves  earthly  things 
behind,  and  rises  by  the  help  of  divine  grace  to  the 
contemplation  of  God.^  In  another  instance  he  speaks 
of  opinion,   faith,   and   knowledge   as   three   ways   of 

1  So  by  Gerhard,  the  Franciscan  monk,  who  wrote,  in  1254,  the 
"Introduction  to  the  Eternal  Gospel."  Joachim  himself,  who  borrowed 
the  term  from  Rev.  xiv.  6,  probably  used  it  to  denote  the  spiritual  sense 
of  Christ's  gospel,  and  not  any  specific  writing. 

2  De  Consideratione,  v.  2. 


310  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH, 

approaching  divine  things.  The  first  rests  on  sem- 
blance, the  second  on  authority,  and  the  third  on  rea- 
son. The  first  gives  no  certainty.  The  second  gives 
a  sure  grasp  of  truth,  but  not  definiteness  of  insight. 
The  third  possesses  the  truth  unveiled  and  clearly  man- 
ifest.^ Here,  as  in  the  previous  instance,  the  goal  is  the 
intuitive  vision  of  God,  but  the  preceding  stages  are 
not  to  be  understood  as  being  parallel.  What  Bernard 
describes  as  the  dispensative  and  the  estimative  consid- 
eration he  did  not  regard  as  competent,  apart  from  the 
aid  of  faith,  to  lead  farther  than  the  stage  of  varying 
opinion.  Finally,  Bernard  specifies  four  different  stages 
of  love,  the  last  and  highest  of  which  he  esteemed  the  in- 
dispensable and  direct  antecedent  of  the  beatific  vision. 
Beginning  with  a  simple  love  of  self,  man  is  taught  by 
sense  of  need  to  turn  erelong  to  God,  and  to  love 
Him  for  the  help  and  blessing  which  He  bestows.  By 
communion  with  God  he  learns,  in  a  third  stage  of 
advancement,  to  love  Him  for  His  own  sake.  In  the 
fourth  stage  he  is  so  swallowed  up  in  God  that  he 
loves  himself  only  for  the  sake  of  God.  Concerning 
this  stage  Bernard  exclaims  •  "  To  be  thus  affected  is 
to  be  deified.  As  a  drop  of  water  mixed  with  a  quan- 
tity of  wine  seems  to  lose  itself,  while  it  takes  the 
taste  and  color  of  the  wine,  as  the  ignited  and  glowing 
iron  becomes  most  like  to  fire,  as  air  pervaded  by  the 
light  of  the  sun  is  transformed  into  a  luminous  ex- 
panse, and  made  to  seem  not  merely  to  be  illuminated, 
but  to  be  light  itself,  so  then  all  human  affection  in  the 
saints  will  melt  away  in  a  certain  ineffable  mode,  and 
be  wholly  transfused  into  the  will  of  God.     Otherwise, 

1  De  Consideratione,  v.  3. 


SCHOLASTICISM  AND  MYSTICISM.  811 

liow  shall  God  be  all  in  all,  if  in  man  there  remains 
aught  of  human  affection  ?  The  substance  indeed  will 
remain,  but  in  another  form,  another  glorj,  another 
power/'  1  This  supreme  altitude,  according  to  Bernard, 
can  never  be  gained  by  human  industry.  It  is  reached 
only  as  the  spirit  is  transported  by  the  gracious  power 
of  God,  and  belongs  rather  to  the  life  to  come  than  to 
earthly  experience,  though  some  claim  to  have  realized 
it  in  this  world. 

Hugo  was  a  contemporary  of  Bernard.  Born  in 
1097,  he  entered  the  cloister  of  St.  Victor,  near  Paris,  in 
1115,  where  he  continued  the  life  of  study  and  contem- 
plation till  his  death  in  1141.  He  was  at  once  scho- 
lastic and  mystic,  and  in  both  relations  exercised  no 
inconsiderable  influence  upon  his  successors. 

As  distinguished  by  Hugo,  there  are  three  different 
modes  in  which  the  mind  may  occupy  itself  with  ob- 
jects, namely,  cogitatio,  meditatio^  and  contemplatio.  The 
first  denotes  a  passing  attention  to  a  thing  as  it  is  pre- 
sented to  the  senses  or  called  up  by  the  memory ;  the 
second  denotes  a  careful  scrutiny  and  examination, 
with  the  design  of  ascertaining  the  hidden  nature  of  a 
thing  ;  the  third  denotes  the  intuitive  insight,  which 
penetrates  to  the  very  depths  of  things,  and  discovers 
their  meaning  without  any  labored  investigation.  To 
the  last  alone  does  perfect  clearness  belong.  It  is  the 
faculty  of  open  vision.  "  What  meditation  seeks,  con- 
templation possesses."  The  latter,  however,  may  be 
distinguished  into  two  kinds:  an  earlier  and  less  per- 
fect, which  is  directed  to  creatures ;  a  final  and  perfect, 
which  is  directed  to  the  Creator.  At  the  initiation  of 
1  Liber  de  Diligendo  Deo,  viii.-x.    Compare  Epist.  xi. 


312  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

meditation,  knowledge  is  obscured  by  mixture  with 
ignorance.  The  effect  is  like  the  mingled  smoke  and 
Hame  which  break  forth  at  the  starting  of  a  fire.  In 
the  next  stage  —  the  inferior  form  of  contemplation, 
which  may  be  termed  speculation  —  the  obscurity  has 
ceased  ;  there  is  now  only  fire  and  flame.  In  the  final 
stage  the  clarified  vision  rests  with  a  perfectly  settled 
and  satisfied  glance  upon  the  one  Divine  object;  the 
quivering  flame  has  disappeared,  and  the  fire  alone 
remains.  "  The  whole  heart,  being  then  converted  into 
the  fire  of  love,  truly  feels  that  God  is  all  in  all."  ^ 

In  another  connection  Hugo  brings  out  an  idea  much 
favored  by  mystics,  namely,  that  contemplation  must 
take  a  subjective  course  in  order  to  reach  its  goal. 
One  must  first  enter  into  self,  as  he  teaches,  in  order 
to  transcend  self.  "  In  spiritual  and  invisible  things 
the  highest  is  identical  with  the  most  interior.  To 
ascend  to  God,  therefore,  is  to  enter  into  one's  self, 
and  not  only  to  enter  into  one's  self,  but  in  a  certain 
ineffable  mode  in  the  inner  depths  of  the  being  to  pass 
beyond  one's  self."  ^ 

Richard,  a  disciple  of  Hugo,  and  his  successor  in  the 
office  of  teacher  and  prior  at  St.  Victor,  likewise  com- 
bined the  characteristics  of  both  the  scholastic  and 
the  mystic.  Starting  upon  the  foundation  of  his  pre- 
decessor, he  attempted  to  build  up  a  more  complete 
superstructure  of  mystical  theology. 

Like  Hugo,  Richard  distinguishes  three  cardinal  func- 
tions or  activities  of  man  as  a  rational  being,  cogitatio^ 
meditatio^  and  contemplatio.     These  correspond  to  the 

1  Horn,  in  Salomonis  Ecclesiasten,  i. 

2  De  Vanitate  Mundi. 


SCHOLASTICISM  AND  MYSTICISM.  313 

three  faculties,  imagination,  reason,  and  intelligence, 
the  last  differing  from  the  second  as  the  faculty  of  in- 
tuition differs  from  that  of  discursive  thinking.  The 
proper  goal  of  contemplation  is  the  immediate  vision 
of  God.  However,  on  the  way  to  this  goal  several 
stages  may  be  passed  through.  Indeed,  no  less  than 
six  stages  of  contemplation  may  be  specified.  The 
first  is  directed  to  nature,  as  a  field  from  which  one 
may  derive  a  spontaneous  impression  of  divine  power, 
wisdom,  and  goodness.  In  the  second,  the  mind  passes 
beyond  this  spontaneous  impression,  and  inquires  after 
the  order,  cause,  and  use  of  visible  things.  In  the 
third,  the  similitude  between  the  visible  and  the  in- 
visible is  made  an  occasion  of  the  thought  being  up- 
lifted to  the  latter.  In  the  fourth,  the  images  of  visible 
things  are  wholly  transcended,  and  incorporeal  entities, 
such  as  one's  own  soul,  or  such  as  spirits  and  angels, 
are  apprehended.  In  the  fifth  stage  there  is  a  vision 
of  the  divine,  which  may  be  described  as  above  reason, 
but  not  contrary  to  reason.  In  the  sixth  stage  contem- 
plation is  apparently  counter  to  reason  (^proeter  ra- 
tionem),  as  well  as  above  reason.  Here  the  soul  is 
confronted  with  mysteries  transcending  all  its  powers 
of  rational  insight.  Such  is  the  mystery  of  the  Holy 
Trinity .1  In  the  first  four  of  these  stages  human  in- 
dustry has  a  part  to  perform  along  with  divine  agency. 

1  The  technical  scheme  for  these  different  stages  is  thus  given  : 
"  Primura  est  in  imaginatione  et  secundum  solam  imaginationem.  Se- 
cundum est  in  imaginatione  secundum  rationem.  Tertium  est  in  ratione 
secundum  imaginationem.  Quartum  est  in  ratione  et  secundum  ratio- 
nem. Quintum  est  supra,  sed  non  prseter  rationem.  Sextum  est  supra 
rationem,  et  videtur  esse  praeter  rationem."     (Benjamin  Major,  i.  6.) 


314  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

But  in  the  last  two  all  depends  upon  the  grace  of  God. 
One  may  prepare  himself  for  them  by  the  exercises  of 
self-discipline  and  of  piety ;  he  attains  to  them  only 
as  he  is  transported  by  the  might  of  that  same  Spirit 
which  caught  up  Paul  to  the  third  heaven.  In  such 
an  experience,  the  mind  is  lost  both  to  the  world  and 
to  itself  in  ecstasy.  "  When  we  are  caught  up  into 
the  contemplation  of  divine  things,  forthwith  we  are 
made  oblivious,  not  only  of  all  things  without,  but  also 
of  all  within  us.  And  likewise,  when  we  return  to  our- 
selves from  that  lofty  height,  we  are  in  no  wise  able  to 
recall  what  we  saw  in  that  distinctness  in  which  it  was 
presented  to  us.  And  although  we  may  retain  some 
veiled  and  indistinct  image  of  what  we  beheld,  we  are 
able  neither  to  comprehend  nor  to  remember  the  mode 
and  the  character  of  the  vision."  ^ 

Bonaventura  followed  the  example  of  the  Victorines 
in  representing  at  once  the  scholastic  and  the  mystic 
theology.  He  was  born  in  Italy  in  1221.  At  the  age 
of  twent3^-one  he  entered  the  Franciscan  order.  He 
studied  at  Paris  under  the  renowned  Alexander  Hales. 
This  teacher,  it  is  said,  was  so  impressed  by  the  sanctity 
of  his  life,  that  he  was  wont  to  remark  that  Bonaven- 
tura seemed  to  have  been  born  without  original  sin. 
In  1256  he  was  elected  General  of  his  order.  His  death 
occurred  in  1274,  a  few  months  after  that  of  his  dis- 
tinguished contemporary,  Thomas  Aquinas. 

The  mystical  teaching  of  Bonaventura,  while  char- 
acterized by  some  peculiarities  in  the  choice  of  terms, 
was  essentially   the   same   as  that   of   the   Victorines. 
Like  Richard,  he  distinguishes  six  stages  of  contem- 
1  Benjamin  Major,  i.  12,  iv.  23. 


SCHOLASTICISM  AND  MYSTICISiM.  315 

plation.  In  the  first  two,  the  attention  is  directed  to 
outward  nature,  as  bearing  the  traces  of  a  divine  hand. 
In  the  next  two,  the  attention  is  turned  inward  to  the 
soul  as  the  image  of  Deity,  a  mirror  in  which  some- 
what of  His  perfections  is  reflected.  In  the  last  two 
stages  there  is  an  ecstatic  vision  of  God  in  His  absolute 
being  and  trinitarian  life.^ 

The  name  of  another  great  theologian  of  the  period 
might  also  be  cited  under  the  subjedt  of  orthodox  mys- 
ticism. While  mainly  exhibiting  the  bent  of  the  scho- 
lastic, Albertus  Magnus  devoted  some  attention  to  the 
mystical  theology.  Indeed,  in  the  view  of  Preger,  he 
may  be  regarded  as  quite  an  important  contributor. 
For,  although  he  added  nothing  essentially  new,  he 
gave  to  previous  teachings  a  clearer  and  more  complete 
statement.  Moreover,  his  great  reputation  for  learning 
and  metaphysical  ability  naturally  drew  the  attention 
of  later  mystics  to  that  which  he  had  written  upon  their 
favorite  themes. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  of  all  of  these  writers,  from  Ber- 
nard to  Albertus  Magnus,  that  they  strongly  emphasize 
the  ethical  conditions  of  divine  union  ;  that  they  repre- 
sent the  higher  stages  of  that  union  as  being  always 
a  supernatural  gift ,  and  that  they  in  fact  distinguish 
the  ultimate  stage  from  a  pantheistic  absorption  into 
Deity,  however  near  some  of  their  fervid  statements 
may  seem  to  come  to  this  result.^ 

1  Itinerarium  Mentis  ad  Deum,  etc. 

2  See  Stockl,  Geschichte  der  Philosophie  des  Mittelalters,  Band  iu 
§241. 


THIRD  PERIOD. 

1294-1517. 


INTEODUCTION. 


THIS  closing  period  of  the  Mediaeval  Church  is 
throughout  an  illustration  of  the  way  in  which, 
under  Divine  Providence,  the  conditions  are  made  ready 
for  a  great  crisis.  The  revolution  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury came  as  a  surprise  to  men  only  because  they  had 
not  the  insight  to  discover  the  inevitable  goal  of  the 
preceding  events.  Through  the  space  of  two  centuries 
Europe  had  been  preparing  for  that  season  of  upheaval 
and  readjustment.  Designedly  or  undesignedly,  all 
parties  —  the  State,  the  Church,  the  critic  within  the 
Church,  and  the  agitator  who  was  cast  out  of  its  fel- 
lowship —  had  been  making  their  contribution  toward 
the  final  result.  Even  those  who  were  most  concerned 
to  preserve  the  old  order  of  things  intact  became, 
through  their  blind  and  selfish  policy,  the  instigators 
and  servants  of  revolution.  Nearly  the  whole  list  of 
topics,  therefore,  upon  which  we  now  enter,  might  be 
classed  as  antecedents  of  the  Protestant  Reformation. 

The  reason  why  humanism  is  not  treated  among 
these  topics  is  not  the  lack  of  a  title  to  the  same  classi- 
fication. It  was  truly  a  forerunner  of  Protestantism. 
By  proclaiming   the   permanent   worth   of  the   classic 


320  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

systems  it  gained  recognition  for  the  interests  of  civil- 
ization in  general,  and  provided  an  offset  to  the  domi- 
nance of  the  purely  ecclesiastical.  It  thus  assisted  to 
a  departure  from  the  mediaeval  basis.  But  it  was  an 
accompaniment  of  the  first  stages  of  Protestantism,  as 
well  as  a  preparation.  It  will  be  of  practical  advan- 
tage, therefore,  to  defer  its  treatment  till  we  reach  the 
Reformation  era. 

Some  of  the  topics  which  have  engaged  our  attention 
in  previous  periods  scarcely  require  a  detailed  consider- 
ation in  this.  Aside  from  features  connected  with  the 
papacy,  church  constitution  does  not  exhibit  many 
noteworthy  developments.  A  phase  of  some  impor- 
tance in  the  relations  of  ecclesiastics  to  the  State  was 
that  which  grew  out  of  the  increase  of  monarchical 
power  and  independence,  such  as  we  find  in  England 
and  France  toward  the  close  of  the  period.  This 
tended  to  limit  in  a  measure  the  immunities  which  had 
been  claimed  by  the  clergy. 

In  the  sphere  of  discipline,  a  principal  fact  to  be 
noticed  is  the  enormous  extent  to  which  the  sale  of 
indulgences  was  carried.  The  closing  of  the  crusades 
was  far  from  involving  a  sealing  up  of  the  treasury  of 
merits.  It  was  kept  open  to  the  hand  of  the  Pope, 
and  any  undertaking  which  he  was  pleased  to  call  a 
holy  war,  whether  directed  against  a  prince,  a  papal 
rival,  or  a  company  of  heretics,  was  made  an  occasion 
for  a  generous  offer  of  indulgences.  Thus  John  XXII. 
endeavored  to  sustain  his  unrighteous  attack  against 
Louis  of  Bavaria  by  promise  of  the  same  indulgences 
which  were  customarily  obtained  by  joining  the  Eastern 
crusade.     Urban  VI.  offered  like  favors  to  those  who 


INTRODUCTION.  321 

would  assist  in  overthrowing  the  antipope.  John 
XXIII.  sought,  through  an  extensive  sale  of  indul- 
gences, the  means  of  humbling  Ladislaus,  King  of 
Naples.  Martin  V.  promised  plenary  indulgences  to 
all  who  would  take  up  arms  against  the  Hussites  ;  and 
Innocent  VIII.  urged  on  the  Christians  of  Savoy  and 
France  against  the  Waldenses  in  Piedmont,  by  the  ex- 
pectation of  an  equal  reward.  Aside  from  these  more 
prominent  occasions  of  distribution,  there  was  a  great 
throng  of  local  interests  to  which  response  was  given. 
The  work  of  the  Inquisition  involved  continual  drafts 
upon  the  unfailing  treasury ;  in  fact,  so  far  as  a  pro- 
fusion of  indulgences  could  cheer  the  officials  of  the 
Holy  Office  along  their  hard  path,  they  were  not  desti- 
tute of  comfort.  Among  subordinate  agents  engaged 
in  trafficking  with  these  spiritual  goods,  not  a  few,  no 
doubt,  were  genuine  prototypes  of  Tetzel,  and  practised 
in  a  shameless  way  upon  the  ignorance  of  the  people. ^ 
While  the  abuse  was  not  effectually  dealt  with,  it  did 
not  escape  censure.  The  Council  of  Constance  left  on 
record  both  its  recognition  of  scandalous  malpractice 
and  its  desire  to  place  it  under  restraint.^ 


^  We  read  of  some  who  went  so  far  in  disregarding  all  limitations 
upon  the  value  of  indulgences,  that  they  proclaimed  their  efficacy  to 
deliver  the  damned  from  hell.  (Raynaldus,  anno  1453,  n.  19  ;  Amort, 
De  Origine,  Progressu,  Valore  ac  Fructu  Indulgentiarum,  pars  ii.  sect.  i. 
cap.  xvi,)  This,  of  course,  was  going  further  than  the  authorities  could 
allow. 

2  The  Council  annulled  all  grants  of  indulgences  made  since  the  time 
of  Clement  V.,  and  gave  the  following  as  the  reason  for  its  action  :  "  Quia 
tempore  schismatis,  quo  singula  quasi  spiritualia  publico  exponebantur 
venditioni,  multae  quaestuationes  ac  petitiones  cum  quamplurium  indul- 
gentiarum et  concessionum  privilegio,  ut  verosimiliter  prcesumitur,  pro 

21 


322  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

In  the  department  of  worship  there  was  a  tendency, 
along  with  increased  acceptance  of  the  immaculate 
conception,  to  render  increased  homage  to  the  Virgin. 
Two  new  festivals,  those  of  the  Presentation  and  the 
Visitation,  were  instituted  in  her  honor.  The  credulous 
found  new  occasion  for  Mariolatry  in  the  fable  respect- 
ing the  miraculous  transfer  of  the  house  of  the  Virgin 
from  Palestine  to  Loretto.  There  were,  no  doubt,  some 
offsets  to  these  crudities ;  but  in  the  extensive  lack  of 
edifying  preaching,  the  means  for  disabusing  the  pop- 
ular mind  of  shallow  and  superstitious  notions  were 
sadly  inadequate. 

pecunia  plus,  quam  pro  animarum  salute  sunt  concessae  in  gravamen 
pauperum,  et  ecclesiastic!  status  ridiculum,  et  quibus  velut  ex  facilitate 
veniae  incentivum  praebetur  delinquendi."  (Amort,  pars  ii.  sect.  ii. 
cap.  X.) 


CHAPTER  I. 

CHIEF   POLITICAL   DEVELOPMENTS. 

ITALY  was  still,  in  a  pre-eminent  sense,  the  country 
of  transitions.  The  conflicting  claims  and  mutual 
encroachments  of  Church  and  Empire,  of  free  cities  and 
kingdoms,  involved  continual  agitation  and  frequent 
chancres  in  the  status  of  different  members  in  the  com- 
plex  aggregate  of  political  powers.  This  breaking  up 
of  the  sovereignty  into  many  fragments  was  not  with- 
out its  benefits.  Government  was  made  thereby  a 
matter  of  personal  concern  to  a  relatively  large  pro- 
portion of  the  people.  Responsibility  and  struggle  im- 
parted a  certain  confidence,  and  stimulated  to  achieve- 
ment. At  any  rate,  in  point  of  intellectual  activity, 
Italy  occupied  a  conspicuous  place  in  Europe  in  the 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  lack  of  national  unity  involved  great  misery  and 
waste,  and  invited  in  the  devastating  hand  of  foreign 
dominion. 

The  emancipation  from  the  French  yoke  which  Sicily 
achieved  by  the  terrible  expedient  of  the  "  Sicilian  Ves- 
pers "  (1282)  proved  to  be  a  permanent  acquisition. 
Charles  IT.,  who  succeeded  his  father  upon  the  throne 
of  Naples,  though  seconded  in  his  efforts  by  the  Pope, 
was  not  able  to  recover  the  island.     Frederic,  brother 


324  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

of  the  King  of  Aragon,  remained  in  possession.  During 
the  whole  time  that  the  Angevin  dynasty  ruled  at  Na- 
ples, Sicily  was  independent  of  the  Neapolitan  realm. 
First  under  Alfonso,  who  established  the  Aragonese 
dynasty  at  Naples  in  1442,  the  island  kingdom  was 
reunited  to  its  neighbor  upon  the  peninsula. 

At  Rome  the  civil  authority  claimed  b}^  the  pontiff, 
while  receiving  a  general  acknowledgment,  was  still 
subject  to  serious  obstructions  at  the  hands  of  the  tur- 
bulent nobility  and  the  unstable  populace.  The  long 
absence  of  the  Popes  from  the  city  in  the  fourteenth 
century  gave  enlarged  scope  to  these  unruly  factors. 
At  this  time  occurred  the  most  noted  outbreak  of  re- 
publican enthusiasm  witnessed  in  Rome  since  the  days 
of  Arnold  of  Brescia.  The  leader  in  the  movement 
was  Cola  di  Rienzi.  His  motive  was  not  so  much  a 
genuine  zeal  for  democratic  or  republican  rule  as  a 
poetic  antiquarianism.  Being  a  man  of  ardent  fancy, 
he  revelled  in  the  glory  of  the  old  republican  Rome. 
To  bring  back  that  glory  seemed  to  his  impetuous 
mind  a  possible  achievement.  He  hoped  to  unite  all 
the  Italian  cities  in  a  confederacy  centring  in  Rome, 
and  then  to  lift  the  eternal  city  to  a  still  grander  head- 
ship. Gifted  with  an  eloquent  tongue,  and  assisted  by 
that  enthusiasm  for  the  antique  which  then  numbered 
not  a  few  votaries,  among  them  the  illustrious  Petrarch, 
Rienzi  came  speedily  to  a  complete  ascendency  (1347). 
The  tribune  became  the  dictator.  In  his  earliest  essays 
he  had  been  somewhat  favored  by  the  Pope,  who  was 
willing  to  patronize  democracy  to  a  certain  extent,  as 
a  counterpoise  to  the  Roman  nobility.  But  when  the 
daring  sweep  of  Rienzi's  undertaking  became   manifest, 


CHIEF  POLITICAL  DEVELOPMENTS.        325 

the  Pope  joined  hands  with  his  adversaries  to  compass 
his  overthrow.  This  was  the  less  difficult,  as  the  pos- 
session of  power  brought  to  light  Rienzi's  lack  of  bal- 
ance and  statesmanlike  wisdom.  Failing  of  the  needed 
support,  he  left  the  city.  A  subsequent  reinstatement 
sufficed  only  for  a  brief  season  of  pompous  rule.  He 
fell  a  victim  in  a  popular  insurrection  in  1354. 

The  schism  which  covered  the  last  quarter  of  the 
fourteenth  and  the  first  part  of  the  fifteenth  century 
was  not  favorable  to  the  temporal  interest  of  the 
papacy.  Not  long  afterwards,  however,  the  Pope  held 
a  more  stable  place  than  ever  in  Rome,^  and  advanced 
also  in  a  conspicuous  measure  his  rule  over  the  sur- 
rounding territory. 

The  gravitation  of  the  cities  of  Northern  Italy  toward 
the  estate  of  oligarchies  or  principalities  was  noticed  in 
the  preceding  period.  Florence  was  one  of  the  most 
tenacious  in  holding  on  to  her  republican  liberty,  but 
at  length,  in  the  'course  of  the  fifteenth  century,  allowed 
it  to  be  sacrificed  before  the  powerful  ascendency  of 
the  Medici  family. 

A  position  of  high  importance  was  attained  by  Milan 
in  this  era.  Here  the  Visconti  family  usurped  the  con- 
trol. A  princely  rank  had  already  been  maintained  by 
them  for  some  time,  when  it  was  virtually  sanctioned 
(1395),  in  that  Milan  was  erected  into  a  duchy  by 
letters  patent  of  the  Emperor,  On  the  extinction  of 
this  family  in  the  male  line  (1447),  the  rule  of  Milan 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  able  general,  Francesco  Sforza. 
Meanwhile  the  intermarriage  of  the  Visconti  with  the 

1  More  especially  after  the  abortive  attempt  at  a  popular  rising  by 
Stephen  Porcaro,  in  the  time  of  Nicolas  V. 


326  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

royal  house  of  France  had  given  rise  in  that  quarter 
to  a  claim  upon  Milan.  A  door  was  thus  opened  to 
French  ambition  to  gain  a  secure  foothold  in  Italy. 
Francis  I.,  in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
attempted  to  enter  this  door.  He  found  himself,  how- 
ever, effectually  confronted  by  the  Spanish  power. 

At  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century  the  Ghibelline 
party  was  in  a  repressed  state  in  most  of  the  Italian 
cities.  But  it  rose  at  various  points  in  the  next  century, 
and  maintained  itself  with  no  little  vigor.  Some  re- 
markable exhibitions  were  given,  at  this  time,  of  the 
hold  which  the  Empire  had  upon  the  thought  and  feel- 
ing of  men.  As  some  of  the  early  Christians  had  taught 
that  when  the  Roman  Empire  should  be  dissolved  the 
world  would  come  to  an  end,  so  mediaeval  Christians 
thought  of  the  Empire  as  coextensive  with  the  tem- 
poral order  of  things.  It  seemed  to  them  to  be  a  neces- 
sary counterpart  of  the  Church,  a  universal  dominion 
over  the  bodies  of  men  alongside  that  spiritual  dominion 
which  extends  over  all  souls  upon  earth.  The  unex- 
tinguished force  of  this  sentiment  appeared  in  the  warm 
enthusiasm  with  which  Henry  VII.  was  welcomed  as  he 
came  into  Italy  in  1310.  Though  the  issue  proved  that 
very  few,  if  any,  desired  to  be  really  governed  by  the 
Emperor,  many  hailed  him  in  the  first  instance  as 
though  he  were  the  embodiment  of  beneficent  sov- 
ereignty, the  pillar  of  civil  order.  It  was  thus  that  he 
was  regarded  by  the  greatest  Ghibelline  of  the  age,  the 
poet  Dante.  In  his  De  Monarchia,  which  gave  full 
expression  to  his  views,  he  argued  that  the  Empire  has 
its  own  foundation,  no  less  than  the  Church ;  that  it 
arose  in  the  ordering  of  Divine  Providence,  is  essential 


CHIEF  POLITICAL  DEVELOPMENTS.         327 

to  human  welfare,  was  acknowledged  by  Christ,  who 
was  born  and  fulfilled  His  ministry  under  its  sway,  has 
an  inalienable  right  which  cannot  be  surrendered  even 
by  the  free  act  of  any  particular  Emperor,  and  is  de- 
pendent upon  no  earthly  sanction  for  its  authority. 
The  Emperor  should  indeed  cultivate  relations  of  amity 
with  the  Pope,  and  give  ear  to  his  spiritual  counsels. 
But  in  his  own  sphere  he  is  independent.  "  It  is 
clear,"  says  Dante,  "that  the  authority  of  temporal 
monarchy  comes  down,  with  no  intermediate  will,  from 
the  fountain  of  universal  authority."  ^  Thus  Dante 
opposed  ideal  to  ideal,  placing  over  against  the  arro- 
gant sovereignty  of  the  Pope,  which  claimed  to  dis- 
pose of  the  Empire  at  pleasure,  the  divine  right  and 
independent  basis  of  imperial  rule.^ 

1  Book  III.,  translation  by  F.  J.  Church. 

2  Bryce  thus  gives  the  genesis  of  the  papal  claim ;  "  It  was  not  diffi- 
cult to  find  grounds  on  which  to  base  such  a  doctrine.  Gregory  VII. 
deduced  it  with  characteristic  boldness  from  the  power  of  the  keys,  and 
the  superiority  over  all  other  dignities  which  must  needs  appertain  to 
the  Pope  as  arbiter  of  eternal  weal  or  woe.  Others  took  their  stand  in 
the  analogy  of  clerical  ordination,  and  urged  that  since  the  Pope  in  con- 
secrating the  Emperor  gave  him  a  title  to  the  obedience  of  all  Christian 
men,  he  must  have  himself  the  right  of  approving  or  rejecting  the  can- 
didate according  to  his  merits.  Others  again,  appealing  to  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, showed  how  Samuel  discarded  Saul  and  anointed  David  in  his 
room,  and  argued  that  the  Pope  now  must  have  powers  at  least  equal  to 
those  of  the  Hebrew  prophets.  But  the  ascendency  of  the  doctrine 
dates  from  the  time  of  Pope  Innocent  III.,  whose  ingenuity  discovered 
for  it  an  historical  basis.  It  was  by  the  favor  of  the  Pope,  he  declared, 
that  the  Empire  was  taken  away  from  the  Greeks  and  given  to  the 
Germans  in  the  person  of  Charles ;  and  the  authority  which  Leo  then 
exercised  as  God's  representative  must  abide  thencefortli  and  forever  in 
his  successors,  who  can  therefore  at  any  time  recall  the  gift,  and  bestow 
it  on  a  person  or  a  nation  more  worthy  tlian  its  present  holders.  This 
is  the  famous  theory  of  the  Translation  of  the  Empire,  which  plays  so 


328  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

The  dream  of  Dante  was  far  from  being  fulfilled.  No 
Augustus  arose  to  bring  in  a  golden  age  of  universal 
peace.  Inside  the  Germanic  States  the  Emperor  found 
but  limited  means  of  asserting  his  will.  While  his  au- 
thority was  regarded  in  general  as  a  necessary  bond  of 
union,  the  princes  were  disposed  to  evade  any  particular 
applications  of  it  that  were  not  agreeable  to  their  minds. 
Outside  of  German}^,  after  the  days  of  Henry  VII.,  the 
Emperor  possessed  only  a  shadow  of  power.  As  the 
modern  era  was  approached,  those  romantic  sentiments 
which  liad  given  support  to  imperialism  greatly  waned. 
The  notion  of  universal  rule  lost  its  hold.  Even  the 
ceremony  of  investiture  with  the  Roman  imperium  — 
the  coronation  by  the  Pope  —  was  dispensed  with, 
Frederic  III.  (1452)  being  the  last  to  receive  this  hon- 
ored token  at  Rome.^  In  the  sixteenth  century  the 
head  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  had  become  very  gen- 
erally in  men's  thoughts,  as  well  as  in  reality,  simply  the 
Emperor  of  Germany. 

In  France,  the  sovereigns  who  followed  Philip  the 
Fair  showed  less  ability  for  advancing  royal  and  na- 
tional interests  than  had  characterized  his  vigorous  rule. 
Moreover,  they  began  to  be  embarrassed,  within  the 
space  of  a  generation,  by  enormous  difficulties  in  the 
external  relations  of  the  realm.  The  claim  which  Ed- 
large  a  part  in  controversy  down  till  the  seventeenth  century."  (The 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  chap,  xiii.) 

"  Dante's  arguments  are  not  stranger  than  his  omissions.  No  sus- 
picion is  breathed  against  Constantine's  donation  ;  no  proof  is  adduced, 
for  no  doubt  is  felt,  that  the  empire  of  Henry  VII.  is  the  legitimate  con- 
tinuation of  that  which  had  been  swayed  by  Augustus  and  Justinian." 
(Bryce,  chap,  xv.) 

1  Charles  V.  was  crowned  at  Bologna. 


CHIEF  POLITICAL  DEVELOPMENTS.         329 

ward  III.  of  England  put  forth  to  the  crown  of  France, 
and  in  pursuance  of  which  he  invaded  the  country  in 
1339,  seemed  at  times,  in  the  ensuing  struggle  of  nearly 
one  hundred  and  twenty  years,  on  the  point  of  being- 
realized.  Great  defeats  were  suffered  by  the  French 
forces,  as  in  the  battles  of  Crecy,  Poitiers,  and  Agin- 
court.  Perhaps  the  acme  of  distress  was  reached  in 
1429,  when  the  English  soldiers  were  pressing  the  siege 
of  Orleans  with  every  prospect  of  success.  The  French 
troops  were  dispirited,  the  King  in  despair.  Then  it 
was  that  the  weak  was  enabled  to  confound  the  mighty. 
A  humble  peasant  girl,  Joan  of  Arc,  became  the  in- 
spired heroine  who  retrieved  the  national  fortunes.  By 
1453,  the  ambitious  project  which  had  been  started  by 
Edward  III.  was  a  thing  of  the  past.  English  domin- 
ion in  France  comprised  thereafter  only  the  town  of 
Calais  and  a  narrow  tract  of  adjacent  territory.  With 
this  emancipation  from  foreign  pressure,  the  power  of 
the  crown  was  increased.  As  early  as  1439  a  note- 
worthy blow  was  dealt  to  the  remains  of  the  feudal 
system  in  the  realm  by  the  ordinance  of  Charles  VII. 
providing  for  a  permanent  military  force.  This  was  to 
be  officered  by  the  nominees  of  the  King,  and  was  ex- 
pected to  supersede  very  largely  such  private  equip- 
ments as  the  nobles  were  accustomed  to  make.  Under 
the  crafty  policy  of  Louis  XL  (1461-1483)  still  further 
advance  was  made  toward  the  extinction  of  feudalism 
and  the  concentration  of  sovereignty  in  the  King, 

English  political  history  records  two  noteworthy  de- 
velopments in  this  period.  The  first  of  these  was  an 
advance  toward  parliamentary  privilege,  and  constitu- 
tional limitations  upon  the  monarchy.     The  wars  with 


330  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

Scotland,  which  began  in  the  reign  of  the  first  Edward, 
and  those  with  France  from  the  time  of  Edward  III. 
involved  a  financial  drain  which  made  it  prudent  for 
sovereigns  to  consult  the  national  representatives,  and 
to  enlist  their  friendly  co-operation.  Hence  Parlia- 
ments were  called,  and  were  conceded  powers  which 
came  to  be  deemed  of  constitutional  virtue.  ''  During 
the  long  reign  of  Edward  III.,"  says  Hallam,  "  the  ef- 
forts of  Parliament  in  behalf  of  their  country  were  re- 
warded with  success  in  establishing  upon  a  firm  footing 
three  essential  principles  of  our  government :  the  ille- 
gality of  raising  money  without  consent ;  the  necessity 
that  the  two  houses  should  concur  for  an}^  alterations  in 
the  law  ;  and,  lastly,  the  right  of  the  commons  to  inquire 
into  public  abuses,  and  to  impeach  public  counsellors." 

The  second  development  was  in  an  opposite  direction 
from  the  foregoing.  This  became  manifest  during  the 
wars  between  the  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster,  which 
covered  the  space  of  a  generation  in  the  last  half  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  In  the  course  of  the  struggle  many 
great  nobles  were  attainted,  and  their  confiscated  es- 
tates added  to  the  wealth  and  the  consequent  inde- 
pendence of  the  sovereign.^  With  the  accession  of 
the  Tudors  (1485)  the  counter  development  went  still 
further,  and  constitutional  limitations  upon  the  crown 
were  thrown  very  largely  into  abeyance. 

1  "  If  the  Wars  of  the  Roses,"  says  Green,  "  failed  in  utterly  destroy- 
ing English  freedom,  they  succeeded  in  arresting  its  progress  for  more 
than  a  hundred  years.  With  them  we  enter  upon  an  epoch  of  consti- 
tutional retrogression,  in  which  the  slow  work  of  the  age  that  went  before 
it  was  rapidly  undone."     (Vol.  11.  chap,  i.) 


CHAPTER  II. 

POPES  AND    COUNCILS. 

A  GLANCE  over  the  period  reveals  several  eras  in 
the  fortunes  of  the  papacy.  First  we  have  the 
spectacle  of  lofty  pretension  ending  in  signal  failure,  — 
a  pontiff  who  would  tread  on  the  necks  of  kings  cast 
down  himself  into  the  dust.  Then  follows  a  long  inter- 
val, in  which  the  power  that  wrought  this  humiliation 
holds  the  papacy  in  a  subservient  relation  to  itself,  — 
the  interval  of  seventy  years  (1305-1376)  during  which 
the  Popes  scarcely  enter  Rome,  and  are  the  subjects,  or 
at  best  the  allies,  of  the  French  monarchy.  Close  upon 
this  follows  a  time  of  still  deeper  abasement  of  the 
papal  dignity.  A  schism  of  nearly  forty  years'  duration 
(1378-1417)  gives  occasion  to  the  intervention  of  a  su- 
perior tribunal,  and  important  councils  deal  with  Popes 
as  with  a  subordinate  factor  in  church  government. 
The  energy  and  shrewdness  of  the  pontiffs  who  follow 
the  schism  serve  in  a  measure  to  recover  lost  ground, 
but  the  gain  is  soon  offset  by  the  worldly  ambition  of 
the  Popes,  which  leads  them  to  absorb  their  energies 
in  building  up  a  principahty  in  Italy,  to  the  neglect  of 
wider  interests,  and  to  a  total  disregard  of  the  gather- 
ing storm  which  is  about  to  shake  the  fabric  of  their 
power  to  its  foundations.  It  will  be  our  task  now  to 
consider  these  developments  in  order. 


832  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

I.  Boniface  VIII.  entered  upon  his  pontificate  with 
an  ambition  and  a  self-confidence  in  excess  of  his  re- 
sources. He  thought  to  rule  as  Innocent  III.  had 
ruled.  But  a  century  had  wrought  no  inconsiderable 
change  in  the  temper  of  princes  and  peoples.  Europe 
after  the  crusades  was  not  the  same  as  Europe  in  the 
midst  of  the  crusades.  There  was  more  alertness,  more 
independence,  a  stronger  current  of  purely  secular  en- 
terprise. In  pursuing  any  policy  which  looked  toward 
national  advantage,  a  prince  could  be  more  firm  against 
papal  demands,  as  being  better  assured  of  support 
within  his  realm.  It  happened,  too,  as  Boniface  be- 
came Pope,  that  strong  hands  were  in  possession  of 
the  sceptre.  The  German  Emperor,  it  is  true,  was  not 
formidable ;  but  Edward  I.  of  England  was  a  prince  of 
strong  will  and  resolute  courage,  thoroughly  indisposed 
to  submit  to  any  exterior  authority  ;  and  the  same  was 
true  of  the  French  King,  Philip  the  Fair,  a  man  of 
peculiar  inflexibility,  in  whom  feeling  and  conscience 
were,  to  all  appearance,  absolutely  dormant  before  self- 
interest. 

The  circumstances  under  which  Boniface  attained 
the  papal  dignity  were  not  such  as  to  command  for  him 
the  most  heartj^  and  unanimous  welcome.  His  prede- 
cessor, Celestine  V.,  after  a  pontificate  of  a  few  months, 
had  taken  the  extraordinary  step  of  a  voluntary  abdica- 
tion. With  this  act,  which  some  regarded  as  in  any 
case  of  questionable  validity,  Boniface  was  more  promi- 
nently associated  than  suited  his  reputation.  Early 
testimony  reinforces  the  inference  which  is  suggested 
by  the  known  character  of  Boniface,  and  informs  us 
that  he  took  a  leading  part  in  persuading  his  weak  pre- 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  333 

decessor  to  lay  down  his  office.^  This  was  nothing  else 
than  an  expedient  of  the  proud  and  officious  cardinal 
for  hastening  his  own  advancement,  and  is  made  to 
appear  all  the  more  odious  by  his  subsequent  treatment 
of  Celestine.  The  humble  man  was  not  allowed  to 
choose  his  own  place  of  seclusion,  but  was  put  under 
strict  custody,  for  fear  that  he  might  be  instigated  to 
claim  back  his  lost  crown.  According  to  Peter  d'Ally, 
Boniface  afflicted  his  prisoner  with  needless  severity, 
contrary  to  the  wish  of  the  cardinals.^  However  this 
may  have  been,  the  discrowned  pontiff  was  shabbily 
treated  in  being  robbed  of  his  liberty.  Surely  Boniface 
must  have  had  an  inadequate  apprehension  of  the  saint- 
ship  of  Celestine,  which  was  formally  proclaimed  by  a 
near  successor,  or  he  would  have  seen  that  the  plea 
of  necessary  prudence,  used  to  cover  his  act  of  vio- 
lence, might  very  properly  be  challenged.  A  saint  so 
dangerous  to  the  successor  of  Peter  that  he  must  be 
treated  like  a  criminal  is  a  spectacle  that  calls  for  ex- 
planation. 

As  respects  Italian  affairs,  Boniface  scored  some  vic- 

1  Ptolemfens  Lucensis  says  that  Boniface  by  liis  aptness  for  business 
gained  an  eminent  place  in  the  College  of  Cardinals,  "  sed  propter  banc 
causam  factus  est  fastuosus,  et  arrogans,  ac  omnium  contcmtivus."  (Mu- 
ratori,  Rerum  Italicarum  Scriptores,  xi.  1203.)  The  same  writer  states 
that  he  was  the  foremost  agent  in  persuading  Celestine  to  abdicate. 
(■Raynaldus,  Annal.  Eccl.,  sub  anno  1294.)  Walsingham  speaks  of  Boni- 
face as  having  craftily  induced  Celestine  to  resign  the  papal  office,— 
"subdole  induxisset."  (Hist.  Anglicana,  anno  1294.)  The  formula  of 
abdication  which  was  read  by  Celestine  is  declared  to  have  been  written 
by  another,  (Kaynaldus.)  The  conclusion  that  this  other  was  Boniface 
lies  near  at  hand. 

2  Raynaldus,  anno  1205,  where  some  testimony  of  a  different  tenor  is 
given. 


834  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

toiies  and  suffered  some  defeats.  In  the  latter  must 
be  reckoned  his  attempt  to  extend  the  sovereignty  of 
Charles  IT.,  King  of  Naples,  over  Sicily.  James  of  Ara- 
gon  was  indeed  persuaded  to  abandon  the  claim  of  his 
house  to  that  island.  But  the  Sicilians  were  not  at  all 
disposed  to  fall  again  under  the  hated  rule  of  the  line 
of  Anjou,  and  heartily  sustained  Frederic,  the  brother 
of  James  of  Aragon,  in  his  effort  to  establish  himself 
as  their  king.  Boniface,  who  is  supposed  to  have  been 
indebted  to  Charles  II.  for  aid  in  securing  his  election, 
entered  vigorously  upon  the  task  of  sustaining  his  ally. 
He  declared  Frederic's  assumption  of  the  crown  of 
Sicily  an  abominable  usurpation  ;  denounced  his  claim 
as  a  complete  nullity ;  forbade  Frederic  to  adopt  any 
royal  title  whatever,  and  the  Sicilians  to  yield  him  any 
obedience,  on  pain  of  forfeiting  all  privileges  which  had 
been  granted  by  the  Holy  See.^  Aside  from  gratifying 
the  feelings  of  Boniface  this  peremptory  mandate  did 
little  good.  The  valiant  Frederic  fought  successfully 
for  his  crown.  Boniface  in  the  end  allowed  his  claim.^ 
It  was  stipulated,  to  be  sure,  that  the  crown  of  Sicily 
should  revert  to  the  King  of  Naples  on  the  death  of 
Frederic.  But  such  a  provision  looks  very  much  like 
an  expedient  to  save  appearances  ;  there  could  hardly 
have  been  a  serious  expectation  that  it  would  be  ful- 
filled. 

In  another  project  Boniface  was  far  more  successful. 
He  gained  indeed  a  complete  triumph  for  the  time  being, 
though  ultimately  compelled  to  pay  dearly  for  his  vic- 
tory.    We  refer  to  his  onslaught  against  the  Colonnas, 

i  Raynaldus,  anno  1296. 
2  Ibid.,  anno  1303. 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  335 

one  of  the  most  powerful  families  in  the  Romagna. 
There  was  naturally  a  jealousy  between  the  Pope  and 
this  house.  Having  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
Guelfs,  Boniface  could  hardly  fail  to  hold  the  house 
of  Colonna,  with  its  Ghibelline  affinities,  under  sus- 
picion. On  their  part  the  Colonnas  were  probably  not 
very  careful  to  conceal  their  ill  will,  and  one  of  them 
was  so  rash  as  to  plunder  some  property  of  the  Pope 
which  was  being  conveyed  to  his  native  town,  Anagni. 
Nothing  more  was  needed  to  provoke  jealousy  into  an 
unappeasable  rage.  No  distinction  was  made  between 
the  guilty  and  the  innocent.  The  two  Colonna  car- 
dinals were  deposed  and  excommunicated,  and  their 
nephews,  as  also  their  posterity  down  to  the  fourth 
generation,  were  declared  incapable  of  any  spiritual 
office.  The  condemned  house  was  called  upon  to  de- 
liver up  its  castles.  As  it  refused  to  do  this,  appealed 
against  the  Pope,  and  questioned  his  title,  (since,  as  they 
alleged,  Celestine's  abdication  was  unauthorized,)  Boni- 
face proclaimed  the  whole  family  outlawed,  —  incapable 
of  transmitting  any  estates  or  dignities,  —  called  the 
faithful  to  a  crusade  against  it,  and  stimulated  the  zeal 
of  any  who  would  listen  to  his  summons  by  promise  of 
the  same  indulgences  as  were  wont  to  be  granted  to 
those  engaged  in  warfare  for  the  Holy  Land.^  The 
Pope's  war-cry  found  a  response,  especially  in  the  rival 
family,  the  Orsini.  The  Colonnas  were  obliged  to 
bend  to  the  storm.  Their  castles  were  dismantled,  and 
no  refuge  was  open  to  them  save  in  flight  from  their 
country. 

In  Germany,  Boniface  met  with  indifferent  success. 
1  Raynaldus,  annis  1297,  1298. 


336  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

He  was  not  able  to  control  the  alliances  of  the  Em- 
peror Adolphus ;  and  after  this  prince  was  overthrown 
by  the  tyrannical  Albert,  the  stress  of  the  conflict  in 
which  the  Pope  was  engaged  elsewhere  drove  him  at 
length  to  recall  his  excommunications,  and  to  make 
terms  with  the  usurper. 

Hostilities  between  Edward  of  England  and  Philip 
the  Fair  of  France  gave  the  Pope  his  first  conspicuous 
occasion  to  meddle  with  the  affairs  of  these  realms. 
Early  in  his  pontificate  he  commanded  the  belligerent 
sovereigns  to  make  peace.  As  the}^  gave  no  heed  to 
his  mandate,  he  resorted  to  more  practical  measures. 
Near  the  beginning  of  1296,  he  issued  a  strict  injunction 
against  ecclesiastics  making  contributions  to  laymen, 
under  any  name  or  pretext  whatever,  without  the  papal 
authorization.  Whoever  should  offend  by  contributing 
or  by  exacting  contribution  was  to  be  excommunicated, 
and  to  have  no  privilege  of  absolution  till  the  dy- 
ing hour,  unless  by  special  grant  of  the  Pope.  This^ 
injunction,  embodied  in  the  bull  Clericis  Laicos^  was 
expected  to  arrest  the  warlike  operations  of  the  two 
Kings,  since  both  of  them  depended  largely  upon  the 
taxes  which  they  had  imposed  upon  ecclesiastical  prop- 
erty. However,  it  failed  of  its  purpose.  The  English 
King  brought  most  of  his  clergy  to  terms  by  threaten- 
ing, in  case  of  non-compliance,  to  withhold  from  them 
the  protection  of  the  laws.^  The  French  King  re- 
sponded to  the  papal  interference  with  an  expedient 
suited  to  his  haughty  temper,  and  calculated  also  to 
touch  the  Pope  to  the  quick  ;  he  issued  an  order  pro- 
hibiting the  exportation   of  gold  and  other  valuables 

1  VValsinLrhani,  anuis  1296,  1297. 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  337 

without  the  royal-  license.  As  Boniface  was  on  the  eve 
of  his  conflict  with  the  Colonna  family,  he  found  it 
prudent  to  modify  his  demands  upon  Philip.  Though 
indulging  to  some  extent  in  the  lofty  language  which 
he  was  so  fond  of  employing,  he  really  retreated  from 
the  requirement  which  had  been  proclaimed  in  the  bull 
Clericis  Laicos,  and  consented  that  the  French  clergy 
might  render  financial  aid  to  their  sovereign.  A  rup- 
ture was  thus  avoided  for  the  time  being  with  the 
French  monarch.  The  English  King  also  found  it  for 
his  convenience  to  make  peace.  Boniface  was  allowed 
to  arbitrate  the  case  between  the  two  sovereigns  (1298), 
it  being  distinctly  understood  that  he  was  to  fulfil  this 
function  by  the  consent  of  the  parties,  rather  than  in 
virtue  of  any  official  prerogatives. 

In  the  further  relations  between  the  English  King 
and  the  Pope,  the  principal  occasion  of  controversy 
was  tlie  jurisdiction  which  Edward  sought  to  assert 
over  Scotland.  In  answer  to  the  appeal  of  the  Scots 
for  his  intervention,  the  Pope  declared  that  the  kingdom 
of  Scotland  was  a  fief  of  the  Holy  See,  commanded  the 
release  of  Scottish  prisoners  and  the  surrender  of  cas- 
tles and  monasteries,  and  ordered  Edward  to  despatch 
his  ambassadors  to  Rome  that  they  might  there  receive 
a  final  disposition  of  matters  in  dispute  between  the 
two  kingdoms.  The  response  to  the  Pope's  manifesto 
was  prudently  made  through  the  national  Parliament, 
rather  than  by  the  King  in  person.  It  was  a  bold 
refusal  of  the  Pope's  settlement,  the  assembled  barons 
declaring  that  they  would  not  permit  the  King  to 
surrender  England's  right  over  Scotland.  In  the 
course  of  the  negotiations,  the  Pope  and  the  King  ex- 

22 


338  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

changed  elaborate  documents  iii   support  of  their  re- 
spective claims.^ 

Meanwhile  Philip  the  Fair  took  no  special  pains  to  in- 
sure peaceful  relations  with  Boniface.  He  encroached 
upon  certain  ecclesiastical  benefices  and  jurisdictions ; 
he  gave  asylum  to  the  exiled  Colonnas  ;  he  entered 
into  a  treaty  with  the  excommunicated  Albert  of  Ger- 
many. No  open  rupture  occurred,  however,  till  after 
the  jubilee  year  1300.  Perhaps  the  events  of  that  year 
had  some  influence  in  bringing  about  the  collision  that 
followed.  Certain  is  it  that  they  ministered  greatly 
to  the  pride  of  the  haughty  pontiff.  All  Christendom 
seemed  to  be  streaming  to  his  footstool.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  a  million  persons  journeyed  to  Rome  in 
the  course  of  the  year,  to  claim  the  benefit  of  the  ample 
indulgences  promised  to  all  who  should  visit  for  fifteen 
days  the  basilicas  of  Peter  and  Paul.^  The  altars  of 
these  churches  overflowed  with  the  offerings  of  the 
multitudes  which  day  after  day,  in  ceaseless  proces- 
sion, moved  toward  the  sacred  shrines  of  the  apostles.^ 

1  Walsinghara,  anno  1301;  Rymer,  Fcedera  inter  Reges  Angliae  et 
alios  quosvis. 

2  For  Romans,  as  not  having  to  endure  the  labor  of  pilgrimage,  fifteen 
days  extra  were  added.  The  proclamation  of  indulgence  was  couched 
in  the  most  emphatic  terms.  Of  those  making  the  required  visitation  it 
said  :  "  Omnibus  vere  poenitentibus  et  confessis,  non  solum  plenam  et 
largiorem,  immo  plenissimam  omnium  suorum  concedimus  veniam  pec- 
catorum."     (Raynaldus,  anno  1300.) 

3  According  to  an  eyewitness,  money  was  thrown  down  in  such  pro- 
fusion by  the  swarming  crowds  that  it  was  collected  with  rakes :  "  Pluries 
ego  vidi  ibi  tarn  viros,  quam  mulieres  conculcatos  sub  pedibus  aliorum  ; 
et  etiam  egoraet  in  eodera  periculo  plures  vices  evasi.  Papa  innumera- 
bilem  pecuniam  ab  eisdem  recepit,  quia  die  ac  nocte  duo  clerici  stabant 
ad  altare  sancti  Pauli  tenentes  in  eorum  manibus  rastellos  rastellantes 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  339 

What  wonder  if  the  proud  old  man  in  the  chair  of 
Peter,  in  the  midst  of  such  flattering  tributes  to  his 
spiritual  sovereignty,  imagined  himself  not  only  lifted 
high  above  the  kings  of  the  earth,  but  competent  to 
rule  them  according  to  his  pleasure  !  At  any  rate,  the 
next  year  he  proceeded  as  if  very  ready  to  undertake 
the  task  of  humbling  the  French  King. 

Not  content  to  bring  various  grievances  to  the  King's 
attention,  the  Pope  chose  as  the  bearer  of  his  remon- 
strances an  agent  peculiarly  odious,  Bernard  Saisset, 
Bishop  of  Pamiers.  The  way  in  which  the  turbulent 
legate  fulfilled  his  charge  angered  the  monarch  beyond 
measure.  Matter  of  accusation  was  sought  for,  and 
Bernard  Saisset,  as  guilty  of  treasonable  conduct,  was 
put  under  arrest.  The  wrath  of  Boniface  now  flamed 
forth.  In  a  series  of  bulls  he  commanded  the  release 
of  his  legate,  summoned  the  French  clergy  to  Rome  to 
take  measures  for  settling  the  disorders  in  the  French 
realm,  and  excommunicated  the  King.^  In  some  of 
these  manifestoes  the  papal  prerogatives  were  asserted 
in  terms  which  had  scarcely  been  paralleled  up  to 
that  time.  This  was  especially  true  of  the  bull  Unam 
Sanctam,  issued  in  November,  1302.  What  words  could 
more  strongly  assert  the  solitary  eminence  of  the  Roman 
pontiff  than  the  following :  "  We  learn  from  the  words 
of  the  gospel  that  in  his  power  are  the  two  swords,  the 
spiritual  and  the  temporal.  For  when  the  apostles  said, 
'  Here  are  two  swords,'  that  is,  in  the  Church,  the  Lord 

pecuniam  infinitam."  (Chronica  Astensia,  cap.  xxvi.,  apud  Muratori, 
torn,  xi.) 

1  No  one,  however,  had  the  courage  to  publish  this  excommunication 
in  France. 


340  THE   MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

replied,  not  that  it  was  too  many,  but  that  it  was  enough. 
Certainly  he  who  denies  that  the  temporal  sword  is 
in  the  power  of  Peter  attends  but  poorly  to  this  say- 
ing of  Christ,  '  Put  up  thy  sword  in  its  sheath.'  Both 
therefore  are  in  the  power  of  the  Church,  the  spiritual 
sword  and  the  material ;  the  latter  to  be  used  for  the 
Church,  the  former  by  the  Church ;  the  one  in  the  hand 
of  the  priest,  the  other  in  the  hands  of  kings  and  sol- 
diers, but  wielded  according  to  the  will  and  sufferance 
of  the  priest.  Now  it  is  fitting  that  sword  should  be 
subordinate  to  sword,  and  that  the  temporal  authority 
should  be  subject  to  the  spiritual  power  :  for  the  apostle 
says,  '  There  is  no  power  save  that  which  comes  from 
God  ;  but  all  things  coming  from  God  are  in  orderly 
arrangement';  and  they  would  not  be  thus  arranged, 
unless  sword  were  subordinate  to  sword,  and  the  higher 
were  reached  from  the  lower  through  intermediate 
grades,  according  to  the  divine  law  which  the  blessed 
Dionysius  has  expounded.  Therefore,  if  the  earthly 
power  transgresses,  it  is  to  be  judged  by  the  spiritual ; 
if  a  lower  rank  of  the  spiritual  transgresses,  it  is  to  be 
judged  by  its  superior ;  if  the  highest  spiritual  rank  is 
at  fault,  it  is  to  be  judged  by  God  alone,  not  by  man, 
as  the  apostle  testifies,  '  The  spiritual  man  judges  all 
things,  but  he  himself  is  judged  by  none.'  This  au- 
thority, even  if  it  has  been  given  to  man,  and  is  ex- 
ercised through  man,  is  not  a  human,  but  rather  a  divine 
power,  given  by  divine  sentence  to  Peter,  and,  both  to 
himself  and  his  successors  in  the  same  Christ  whom 
he  had  confessed,  a  firm  rock ;  the  Lord  saying  to  the 
same  Peter,  '  Whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind,'  etc.  Who- 
ever therefore  resists  this  power  thus  ordained  of  God 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  341 

resists  the  ordination  of  God,  unless,  as  ManichaBus  im- 
agines, there  are  two  principles,  which  we  judge  to  be 
false  and  heretical,  since  Moses  testifies  that  God  made 
heaven  and  earth  not  in  principiis  but  in  principio. 
Moreover,  we  declare,  say,  and  define  that  to  be  subject 
to  the  Roman  pontiff  is  for  every  human  being  alto- 
gether necessary  to  salvation."  ^ 

Such  language  evidently  implies  a  supremacy  in  the 
Pope  before  which  kings  hold  only  the  place  of  instru- 
ments, having  no  leal  autonomy  or  self-motion,  except 
so  far  as  the  papal  will  may  choose  to  allow.  To  sus- 
tain these  high  claims  against  the  refractory  monarch 
of  France,  Boniface  was  willing  to  relax  his  rule  for 
the  time  being  in  other  quarters.  So  he  made  peace, 
as  we  have  seen,  with  Frederic  of  Sicily  and  Albert  of 
Germany.  Furthermore,  he  ceased  to  press  his  claim 
to  suzerainty  over  Scotland,  and  left  the  English  King 
to  pursue  his  ambitions  in  that  quarter. 

Philip  on  his  part  spared  no  expedient.  His  remorse- 
less egoism  was  a  sufficient  pledge  that  he  would  take 
no  step  toward  conciHation,  save  under  the  stress  of 
seeming  interest.  And  in  fact  very  little  time  was  spent 
in  temporizing.  The  King,  however,  did  not  allow 
his  resentment  to  overcloud  his  discretion.  Sharing 
in  the  temper  of  the  astute  lawyers  whom  he  had  crath"- 
ered  about  himself,  he  took  his  measures  with  keenness 
and  adroitness.  The  prosecution  against  the  Bishop 
of  Pamiers  was  dropped,  as  being  likely  to  alienate  the 

1  T?aynald„s,  anno  1302.  The  Fifth  Lateran  Council,  held  under 
Leo  X.,  which  passes  for  an  Ecumenical  Council,  distinctlv  approved 
the  Unnm  Sanctam.  (Hergenrother,  Conciliengeschichte,  Fortsetzung, 
§  905 ;  Liberatore,  La  Chiesa  e  lo  Stato,  p.  23.) 


342  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

clergy  ;  the  sentiment  of  patriotism  was  enlisted  against 
Boniface  by  the  representation  that  his  measures  were 
an  attack  upon  the  national  independence ;  the  good 
will  of  the  people  was  solicited  by  promise  of  various 
ameliorations  in  the  administration ;  and  diligent  effort 
was  made  to  thoroughly  identify  the  cause  of  the  King 
with  the  cause  of  the  nation.  To  this  end  the  three 
estates  were  assembled,  —  the  first  instance  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  French  monarchy  in  which  the  commons  sat 
with  nobles  and  clergy. i  The  King  found  himself  well 
supported.  The  clergy,  indeed,  wished  to  preserve  a 
respectful  attitude  toward  the  Pope,  but  on  the  whole 
they  acquiesced  in  the  policy  of  the  King.  As  for  the 
nobles  and  the  commons,  they  heartily  seconded  the 
royal  will,  and  sent  to  the  cardinals  a  vigorous  protest 
against  the  papal  assumptions  and  usurpations.  At  a 
second  meeting  of  the  estates,  the  severest  charges  were 
made  against  Boniface,  and  the  necessity  of  a  general 
council  to  release  Christendom  from  his  oppressions 
was  asserted.  This  brought  the  struggle  to  a  crisis. 
Boniface  prepared  to  hurl  his  most  effective  bolt  against 
the  King.  Excommunication,  deposition,  release  of 
subjects  from  all  allegiance,  prohibition  of  all  recogni- 
tion of  the  deposed  monarch  either  by  service  or  ac- 
ceptance of  any  office  or  position  at  his  hands,  — such 

1  Martin  remarks  on  the  contrast  between  the  occasions  which  as- 
sembled the  commons  in  England  and  France  respectively  :  "  The  first 
appeal  to  the  commons  in  Ensrland  had  been  made  by  the  barons  against 
royalty,  in  the  name  of  public  liberties.  The  first  appeal  to  the  third 
estate  of  France  was  made  by  royalty  against  the  Pope,  in  the  name  of 
national  independence,  and  it  was,  strange  to  say,  the  most  despotic  of 
the  kinsfs  of  the  middle  ages  who  assembled  our  first  States  General.' 
(Histoire  do  France,  livre  xxvii.) 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  343 

were  the  specifications  which  Boniface  prepared  and 
designed  to  publish  by  affixing  to  the  porch  of  the  ca- 
thedral in  Anagni  on  the  8th  of  September,  1303. 
When  that  day  arrived,  Boniface  was  in  the  custody 
of  deadly  enemies,  who  hardly  stopped  short  of  per- 
sonal violence  in  their  contumelious  treatment  of  the 
pontiff.  These  enemies  were  Philip's  councillor,  Wil- 
liam of  Nogaret,  and  Sciarra  Colonna.  Supplied  with 
ample  funds,  they  had  hired  a  band  of  lawless  soldiers, 
and  by  a  sudden  sally  into  the  town  of  Anagni,  Sep- 
tember 7th,  had  captured  Boniface  and  forestalled  his 
thunderbolt  against  the  French  King.  The  Pope's  cap- 
tivity was  of  brief  duration.  The  people  of  Anagni  who 
had  been  enticed  to  a  share  in  the  assault,  soon  experi- 
enced a  revulsion  of  feeling  and  drove  out  the  captors. 
But  the  rescue  availed  not  for  the  humiliated  pontiff. 
The  stroke  which  levelled  his  pride  at  the  same  time 
pierced  his  life.  He  died  shortly  after  the  ordeal  of  his 
shameful  arrest.^  In  his  downfall,  according  to  a  re- 
port which  became  current  among  his  opponents,  this 
prophecy  reached  its  fulfilment :  "  He  came  in  like  a 
fox,  he  will  rule  like  a  lion,  he  will  die  like  a  dog."  ^ 

A  loss  of  prestige  naturally  followed  from  the  close 
conjunction  of  such  lofty  pretension  and  such  deep 
humiliation.  Even  in  the  absence  of  further  adversity, 
the  papacy  must  have  put  forth  vigorous  efforts  in  order 
to  recover  lost  ground.     But  ill  fortune   did  not  stop 

1  Ptolema3us  Lucensis  states  that  liis  death  was  preceded  by  a  con- 
dition of  insanity.     (Hist.  Eccl,  xxii.  30,  apud  Muratori.) 

^  "  Ascendisti  ut  vulpes,  regnabis  ut  leo,  morieris  ut  cano."  The 
words  are  ascribed  in  Walsingham  (annis  1294,  1303)  to  Celestine,  the 
predecessor  of  Boniface. 


344  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

with  the  assault  at  Anagni.  The  grasping  monarch  of 
France  took  pains  to  follow  up  his  advantage.  From 
the  immediate  successor  of  Boniface,  Benedict  XI.,  he 
obtained  a  repeal  of  most  of  the  censures  which  had 
been  passed  upon  himself  and  his  allies.  Only  William 
of  Nogaret,  Sciarra  Colonna,  and  others  who  were  im- 
plicated in  the  capture  of  Boniface,  were  excluded  from 
grace.  Further  than  this  Benedict  was  not  willing  to 
go  in  the  way  of  conciliation.  As  Philip  pressed  for  a 
formal  condemnation  of  the  deceased  pontiff',  he  called 
forth  resentment  and  opposition.  A  renewal  of  strife 
seemed  probable.  But  the  speedy  death  of  the  Pope 
brought  matters  to  a  halt ;  and  the  character  of  the  new 
incumbent  encouraged  the  King  to  expect  a  slackened 
resistance  to  his  designs. 

II.  Philip  the  Fair  did  not  misjudge  his  own  in- 
terests when  he  gave  the  weight  of  his  influence  in 
favor  of  Bernard  de  Goth,  Bishop  of  Bordeaux,  and 
thus  directed  to  him  the  choice  which  for  many  months 
the  divided  college  of  cardinals  had  been  unable  to  ef- 
fect. For  although  he  had  adhered  to  Boniface  in  the 
recent  quarrel,  it  was  well  surmised  that  he  might  be 
made  subservient  to  rojdX  designs,  since  he  was  not 
a  man  of  great  personal  force  or  elevation  of  character. 
As  report  has  it,  the  Bishop  of  Bordeaux  paid  a  good 
round  price  for  the  coveted  preferment.  He  engaged,  it 
is  said,  to  fulfil  these  six  conditions:  (1)  To  grant  the 
King  complete  reconciliation  to  the  Church.  (2)  To 
remove  from  him  and  his  followers  all  censures  which 
had  been  imposed.  (3)  To  concede  to  him  the  tenths 
from  the  clergy,  for  five  years.     (4)  To  condemn  and 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  345 

bring  to  naught  the  memory  of  Pope  Boniface.     (5)  To 
restore    to    the  Colonna  cardinals  the  goods  and  dio-. 
nities  taken  from  them.     (6)  To  perform  a  great  and 
arduous    undertaking,    to    be    named    at    some    future 
time.^     A  definite  bargain,  couched  in  these  terms,  may 
not  indeed  have  been  made.     B^t  it  is  certain  that  the 
papacy  at  this  point  passed  into  a  subservient  rehition 
to  the  French  crown.     As  if  to  give  visible  expression 
to   this   fact,  the    newly  elected   Pope,   who   bore    the 
name  of  Clement  V.,  took  up  his  residence  on  French 
soil.  /  He  was  crowned  at  Lyons  in  1305.     In  1309  he 
made  Avignon  the  seat  of  the  papal  court.     This  town, 
it  is  true,  was  not  a  part  of  the  French  kingdom.     It 
belonged  then  to  the  King  of  Naples;  later,  it  came  by 
purchase  into  the  possession  of  the  Popes  themselves. 
However,  it  was  not  sufficiently  remote  from  French 
jurisdiction  to  escape  being  dominated  by  French  in- 
fluence.    The  whole  line  of  Avignon  Popes,  extending 
over  a  period  of  full  seventy  years  (1305-1376),  if  we 
reckon  from  the  beginning  of  Clement's  administration, 
was  scarcely  more  than  an  attachment  to  the  French 
monarchy. 

Among  the  demands  which  Philip  the  Fair  made 
upon  his  papal  ally,  one  was  peculiarly  grievous  to  the 
soul  of  Clement  V.  To  condemn  the  memory  of  Boni- 
face in  the  manner  in  which  the  King  wished  to  have 
it  condemned,  seemed  to  him  to  involve  a  serious  dis- 
honoring of  the  papacy  itself.  Tluis  he  was  placed  in 
a  most  uncomfortable  dilemma ;  for  it  was  not  easy  to 
resist  the  royal  demand.  With  a  venom  which  may 
be  described  as  truly  diabolical,  Philip  the  Fair  deter- 

1  Raynaldus,  anno  1305. 


346  THE  AIEDIjEVAL  CHURCH. 

mined  to  use  pontifical  authority  to  hand  over  the 
name  of  Boniface  VIII.  to  everlasting  infamy.  Up 
to  1311  the  spectre  of  this  unseemly  prosecution  pur- 
sued the  harassed  Pope.  He  was  compelled  to  listen  to 
charges  against  his  predecessor  which  made  him  out 
to  have  been  a  blasphemous  infidel,  criminal,  and 
profligate.  At  length,  however,  Philip,  to  the  inex- 
pressible relief  of  Clement,  consented  to  abandon  the 
prosecution,  it  being  understood  that  he  should  be 
acquitted  of  all  blame  for  anything  which  he  had 
previously  done  to  the  prejudice  of  Boniface.  The 
occasion  of  this  change  of  resolution  is  not  a  matter 
of  distinct  record.  A  favorite  conjecture  has  been, 
that  the  King,  anxious  to  consummate  his  savage  cru- 
sade against  the  Templars,  gave  up  the  case  against 
Boniface,  thereby  purchasing  the  papal  edict,  which 
came  forth  in  1312,  for  the  abolition  of  this  distin- 
guished order.  As  Martin  expresses  it,  "  The  living 
were  to  pay  for  the  dead,  the  Templars  for  Boniface."  ^ 
There  is  hardly  warrant,  however,  for  the  supposition 
of  a  definite  compromise  between  the  King  and  the 
Pope,  though  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  presence  of 
the  one  cause  materially  affected  the  dealing  with  the 
other. 

The  downfall  of  the  Templars  is  one  of  the  darkest 
tragedies  of  European  history.  On  au}^  view  of  their 
fate,  it  is  most  painful  to  contemplate.  If  they  were 
guilty,  the  mind  is  shocked  by  the  sight  of  men  spe- 
cially devoted  to  the  service  of  the  cross  falling  into 
gross  apostasy.  If  they  were  innocent,  the  heart  is 
overwhelmed  with  pity  for  their  terrible  sufferings. 
1  Histoire  de  France,  livre  xxvii. 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS,  347 

Whether  they  were  guilty  or  innocent,  all  sense  of 
justice  and  humanity  is  revolted  by  the  barbarit}^  of 
the  procedure  against  them. 

Jealousy  of  the  power  of  the  Templars  was  the  main- 
spring of  the  onslaught.  It  was  seen  that  they  had 
become  a  formidable  organization.  They  numbered 
some  thousands  of  the  best  soldiers  of  the  age,  and 
these  were  supported  by  a  much  larger  bod}'  connected 
with  the  order  in  the  capacity  of  servants.  Great 
wealth  had  also  accrued  to  them.  The  fact  that  they 
cultivated  a  kind  of  haughty  reserve,  and  dwelt  mainly 
by  themselves,  naturally  increased  the  suspicion  of  those 
inclined  to  look  upon  them  with  an  evil  eye. 

While  the  order  had  been  subjected  to  various  criti- 
cisms in  the  preceding  century,  these  were  only  such 
as  a  privileged  and  aggressive  body  in  the  Church  was 
likely  to  encounter.  None  of  them  implied  a  serious 
conviction  that  the  order  had  apostatized  from  Chris- 
tian morals  or  faith.  But  near  the  beginning  of  the 
fourteenth  century  damaging  rumors  began  to  insinu- 
ate themselves,  though  rather  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  French  King  than  elsewhere.  Renegade  Templars 
helped  to  gain  credence  for  the  evil  reports,  until  at 
length  an  atrocious  list  of  charges  was  provided.  These, 
as  they  were  specified  in  the  course  of  the  prosecution, 
included  such  abominations  as  spitting  upon  the  cross 
at  initiation,  denouncing  Christ  as  an  impostor,  pay- 
ing homage  to  a  hideous  idol,  and  giving  full  scope  to 
unnatural  lusts. 

Such  charges  were  music  to  the  ears  of  Philip.  He 
abhorred  the  independent  spirit  of  the  order.  He  felt 
that  in  combination  with  the  nobility  they  could  defeat 


848  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

his  scheme  of  monarchical  supremacy.  Urged  therefore 
by  jealousy,  as  well  as  by  an  avaricious  thirst  for  their 
great  possessions,  he  began  to  press  energeticall}^  for 
the  overthrow  of  the  Templars.  On  the  13th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1307,  at  early  morn,  in  accordance  with  secret 
instructions  which  had  previously  been  sent  to  the 
oflBcers  of  the  crown,  all  members  of  the  order  in  the 
realm  were  seized  and  thrown  into  prison.  To  accu- 
mulate confessions  free  use  was  made  of  the  torture 
rack.  In  this  way  a  somewhat  formidable  array  of  evi- 
dence was  secured.  A  number  suffered  the  extreme 
penalty.  On  a  single  occasion  (1310),  fifty-four  who 
retracted  their  confessions  were  burned  at  the  stake. 
Several  years  later  (1314),  the  Grand  Master  Jacques 
de  Molay  suffered  the  like  fate.  In  1312,  as  stated 
above,  the  Pope  declared  the  ord  r  dissolved.  He  did 
this,  however,  in  a  way  which  avoided  a  conclusion 
respecting  its  guilt,  issuing  his  sentence,  not  as  being 
judicially  required,  but  as  expedient,  —  non  per  modum 
diffinitivce  sententice,  sed  per  viam  provisionis  et  ordina- 
tionis  apoBtohcce} 

The  reserve  which  appears  in  the  papal  sentence  has 
its  reflex  in  the  later  verdict  of  history.  Writers  have 
been  perplexed  by  the  entanglements  of  the  case,  and 
have  found  it  difficult  to  decide  how  far  the  Templars 
should  be  regarded  guilty  or  innocent.  Against  them 
may  be  urged  the  record  of  their  confessions.     In  their 

1  Raynaldus,  anno  1312.  The  property  of  the  order  was  given  to  the 
Hospitallers  to  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  the  Holy  Land.  Much  of  it, 
however,  found  its  way  into  the  coffers  of  the  rapacious  monarch,  since, 
to  say  nothing  about  direct  seizures,  he  made  exorbitant  charges  for 
the  temporary  custody  of  the  confiscated  goods. 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  849 

behalf  may  be  cited  such  considerations  as  the  follow- 
ing. (1)  The  man  who  instigated  and  urged  on  the 
prosecution  was  every  inch  a  tyrant,  and  was  manifestly 
moved  by  resentment  and  avarice.  (2)  Torture  or  fear 
of  torture  was  undoubtedly  a  main  factor  in  eliciting 
confessions.  (3)  Confessions  of  guilt  were  not  obtained 
in  all  quarters.  "  In  France  alone,"  says  Milman,  "  and 
where  French  influence  prevailed,  were  confessions 
obtained.  Elsewhere,  in  Spain,  in  Germany,  in  parts 
of  Italy,  there  was  an  absolute  acquittal ;  in  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland  there  appears  no  evidence  which 
in  the  present  day  would  commit  a  thief  or  condemn 
him  to  transportation."  i  (4)  The  scores  of  knights 
who  were  burned  at  the  stake  steadfastly  maintained, 
so  long  as  they  could  find  voice,  that  the  order  was 
guiltless  of  the  alleged  iniquities.  The  Grand  Master 
declared  himself  worthy  of  death  because  of  the  false 
admissions  which  dread  of  torture  and  the  flattering 
words  of  King  and  Pope  had  led  him  to  make,  and 
solemnly  asserted  with  his  dying  breath  the  innocence 
of  the  order.  (5)  There  is  a  certain  intrinsic  improb- 
ability that  such  a  body  of  men  should  have  stooped 
to  such  enormous  abasement  as  was  charged  against 
them.  Like  the  contemporary  charges  against  Boni- 
face VIII.,  those  against  the  Templars  invite  to  in- 
credulity by  their  apparent  extravagance.  (6)  Several 
contemporary  writers  expressed  the  opinion   that  the 

1  Latin  Christianity,  book  xii.  chap.  ii.  Compare  Schottmiiller,  Der 
Untergang  des  Templer-Ordens ;  Lea,  History  of  the  Inquisition  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  An  account  of  the  process  against  the  Templars  in  Eng- 
land may  be  found  in  Wilkins,  Concilia  Magnae  Britannise  et  Hibernige, 
vol.  ii.,  anno  1309. 


350  THE  MEDIJEVAL   CHURCH. 

order  was  unrighteously  made  the   victim   of  Philip's 
rapacity.^ 

Subserviency  to  the  French  crown  did  not  exclude 
the  Popes  from  the  political  field.  On  the  contrary,  it 
almost  seems  as  if  they  sought  compensation  for  vas- 
salage to  France  by  an  extra  degree  of  arbitrary  deal- 
ing with  outside  nations.  Thus  Clement  V.  issued  an 
atrocious  bull  against  the  Venetians  on  account  of  their 
encroachments  upon  Ferrara.  Not  content  with  denoun- 
cing against  them  the  full  list  of  spiritual  penalties,  he 
made  their  property  liable  to  confiscation  and  their  per- 
sons to  enslavement  wherever  they  might  be  seized.^ 
A  bull  expressive  of  the  same  extravagant  rage,  and 
containing  like  specifications,  was  issued  by  Gregory 
XI.  against  the  Florentines.^  John  XXII.  (1316-1334) 
during  the  last  ten  years  of  his  pontificate  kept  up  an 

1  Gieseler,  §  96;  Schottmiiller,  i.  532-645.  A  very  decided  verdict 
appears  in  the  following,  which,  however,  assigns  a  share  of  the  guilty 
responsibility  to  William  of  Nogaret:  "In  diebus  suis  [Clement  V.] 
admirabilis  novitas,  et  persequutio  facta  fuit  super  ordinem  Templari- 
crum;  quod  processit  ex  invidia  et  cupiditate  Philippi  Francorum 
Regis,  qui  odio  Templarios  habuit,  eo  quod  ausi  fuerunt  stare  contra 
ipsum  ex  sententia  excommunicationis  data  per  jam  dictum  Bonifaciura 
contra  dictum  Regem.  .  .  .  Guilielmus  de  Nogareto  Regis  Franciae 
Cancellarius  auctor  fuit  pro  posse  rulnae  ordinis  Templariorum,  eo  quod 
patrem  ejus  tanquam  haereticura  comburi  fecerunt."  (Chron,  Astens., 
cap.  xxviii.) 

2  Raynaldus,  anno  1309. 

3  Raynaldus,  anno  1376.  "  Et  ne  ipsorum  temeritas  transiret  prae- 
sumptoribus  in  exemplura,  bona  ipsorum  priorum,  confallioneriorura 
vexillseferorumjustitiae,  officialium  populi  et  communis,  et  etiam  quorum- 
cumque  Florentinorum,  ubicumque  consistentiura,  immobilia  de  eorun- 
dem  fratrum  nostrorum  consilio  confiscavimus ;  et  personas  ipsorum 
omnium  et  singulorum,  absque  tamen  morte  sen  membri  mutilatione, 
exponimus  fidelibus,  ut  capientium  fiant  servi,  et  bona  eorum  mobilia 
quibuscumque  fidelibus  occupanda." 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  351 

implacable  war  against  the  German  Emperor,  Louis  of 
Bavaria.  A  contested  election  had  involved  a  prolonged 
struggle.  This  had  ended  in  victory  for  Louis.  So 
far  as  Germany  was  concerned,  there  was  a  full  prep- 
aration for  peaceful  acquiescence  in  his  rule.  At  this 
point  the  Pope  stepped  in,  required  Louis  to  submit 
his  claim  to  the  papal  decision,  and  on  his  failure  to 
do  this  loaded  him  with  the  anathema.  Clement  VI. 
pursued  him  with  equal  implacability.  A  bull  which 
he  issued  in  1346  may  perhaps  be  regarded  as  the  su- 
preme specimen  of  pontifical  cursing.  Surely  it  would 
be  difficult  to  transcend  such  terms  as  these :  ''  We 
humbly  implore  divine  power  to  repress  the  insanity 
of  the  aforesaid  Louis,  to  bring  down  and  to  crush  his 
pride,  to  overthrow  him  by  the  might  of  its  right  hand, 
to  enclose  him  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies  and  pursuers, 
and  to  deliver  over  to  them  his  prostrate  body.  Let 
the  snare  be  made  ready  for  him  in  secret,  and  let  him 
fall  into  it.  Let  him  be  accursed  coming  in  ;  let  him 
be  accursed  going  out.  The  Lord  smite  him  with  folly, 
and  blindness,  and  frenzy  of  mind.  Let  the  heavens 
send  their  lightnings  upon  him.  Let  the  wrath  of  the 
omnipotent  God  and  of  the  saints  Peter  and  Paul 
burn  against  him  in  this  world  and  in  that  to  come. 
Let  the  whole  earth  fight  against  him ;  let  the  ground 
open  and  swallow  him  up  alive.  In  one  generation  let 
his  name  be  blotted  out  and  his  memory  extinguished 
from  the  earth.  Let  all  the  elements  be  against  him. 
Let  his  habitation  become  a  desert ;  let  all  the  merits 
of  the  saints  above  confound  him,  and  make  open  dis- 
play of  vengeance  upon  him  in  this  life  ;  and  let  his 
sons  be  cast  out  of  their  habitations,  and  with  his  own 


352  THE   MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

eyes  let  him  see  them  destroyed  in  the  hands  of  ene- 
mies." ^  These  aggressions  were  met  by  the  German 
people  with  a  fair  degree  of  spirit.  But  the  Emperor 
at  length  grew  weary  of  the  ban,  and  coveted  recon- 
ciliation. In  England  the  special  grievances  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  the  Popes  were  the  usurpation  of  pat- 
ronage and  exactions  of  money.  To  old  devices  for 
amassing  revenue,  new  were  added.  Thus  John  XXII. 
iiiti'oduced  the  tax  called  annates^tYiO.  value  of  a  year's 
income  from  a  benefice.  Money  thus  gained  was  used  to 
swell  t  he  magnificence  of  the  papal  court  at  Avignon,  to 
carry  through  gieat  building  projects,^  and  to  forward 
French  interests  by  overthrowing  the  German  Emperor. 
If  England  had  been  restive  at  an  earlier  date  under 
such  encroachments  she  could  not  be  expected  to  bear 
them  patiently  now  ;  and  in  fact  very  plain  tokens  of 
her  resentment  were  given.  Among  the  most  sub- 
stantial of  these  were  the  statutes  of  jjrovisors  and 
prcemunire,  the  former  being  directed  against  papal  pre- 
sentations to  benefices,  and  the  latter  sustaining  it  by 
forbidding  any   questioning  of  judgments   rendered  in 

1  Raynaldtis.  A  distinguished  Roman  Catholic  of  modern  times  has 
added  tliis  comment:  "Thou  ravest,  0  Peter;  thy  great  pride  makes 
thee  mad."     (Baader,  Werke,  vol.  x.) 

2  Green,  in  his  History  of  the  English  People,  says  :  "  The  mighty 
building,  half  fortress,  half  palace,  which  still  awes  the  traveller  at 
Avignon,  has  played  its  part  in  our  history.  Its  erection  was  to  the  rise 
of  Lollardry  what  the  erection  of  St.  Peter's  was  to  the  rise  of  Luther- 
anisra.  Its  massive  walls,  its  stately  chapel,  its  chambers  glowing  with 
the  frescos  of  Simone  Memmi,  the  garden  which  covered  its  roof  with 
a  strange  verdure,  called  year  by  year  for  fresh  supplies  of  gold ;  and 
for  this,  as  for  the  wider  and  costlier  schemes  of  papal  policy,  gold  could 
be  got  only  by  pressing  harder  and  harder  on  the  national  churches  the 
worst  claims  of  the  papal  court."    (i.  407.) 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  353 

the  King's  courts,  or  any  resort  to  foreign  tribunals. 
These  statutes  were  passed  in  1351  and  1353  respect- 
ively, and  were  renewed  in  1365.  Near  the  same  time 
the  papal  claim  to  the  tribute  which  John  had  stipulated 
for  the  realm,  and  which  for  a  considerable  time  had 
not  been  paid,  was  effectually  resisted,  the  Parliament 
heartily  sustaining  the  King  in  rejecting  the  ill-timed 
demand  of  the  Pope. 

While  obnoxious  measures  were  a  source  of  bitter- 
ness, the  personal  character  of  the  Avignon  Popes  was 
not,  on  the  whole,  such  as  to  conciliate  affection  and 
respect.      Vice  was   rampant   in    their   neighborhood. 
A  large  discount  may  be  made  on  the  description  of 
Petrarch,  who  was  an  eyewitness,  and  it  will  still  ap- 
pear  that  Avignon  was   a   veritable  sink  of  iniquity. 
The  Popes  no  doubt  were  not  fully  responsible  for  their 
environment ;  at  the  same  time,  they  helped  rather  than 
hindered  the  demoralization.    Clement  V.  lavished  upon 
his  relations  great  sums  drained  from  the  Church,  or, 
still  worse,  squandered  them  upon  the  Countess  Bruni- 
sand  de  Foix,  who  was  commonly  reputed  to  have  been 
his  mistress.     John  XXII.  left  tokens  of  shameful  ex- 
tortion in  immense  heaps  of  gold.     Clement  VI.  was 
an  elegant  voluptuary.     When  reminded  that  his  pre- 
decessors had  been  less  extravagant  in  their  expendi- 
tures, he  rephed,  "  My  predecessors  did  not  know  how 
to  be  Pope."  1      "  The  life  of  Clement,"  says  Milman, 
"  was  a  constant  succession  of  ecclesiastical  pomps,  and 
gorgeous  receptions,  and  luxurious  banquets.     Ladies 
were  freely  admitted  to  the  court ;  the  Pope  mingled 

1  Ludwig  Pastor,  Geschichte  der  Papste  seit  dem  Ausgang  des  Mit- 
telalters. 

23 


354  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

with  ease  in  the  gallant  intercourse.  If  John  XXII., 
and  even  the  more  rigid  Benedict,  did  not  escape  the 
imputation  of  unclerical  license,  Clement  VI.,  who  af- 
fected no  disguise  in  his  social  hours,  would  hardly  be 
supposed  superior  to  the  common  freedom  of  the  eccle- 
siastics of  his  day.  The  Countess  of  Turenne,  if  not, 
as  general  report  averred,  actually  so,  had  at  least  many 
of  the  advantages  of  the  Pope's  mistress,  —  the  distri-  - 

bution  of   preferments   and   benefices   to   any   extent,  j 

which  this  woman,  as  rapacious  as  she  was  handsome  | 

and  imperious,  sold  with  shameless  publicity."  ^  f 

An  episode  of  some  note  in  the  annals  of  the  Avignon  I 

Popes  was  an  unfortunate  dogmatic  venture  by  John  ^^ 

XXII.     He  put  forth  the  conclusion  that  the  saints  do  | 

not  enjoy  the  beatific  vision  till  after  the  day  of  judg-  ' 

ment.  There  is  no  just  reason  to  doubt,  too,  that  he 
designed  to  sustain  this  conclusion.  But  so  much  of 
the  odium  of  heresy  was  cast  upon  him,  that  he  was  ■ , 

finally  glad,  if  we  may  trust  the  accounts  given,  to  ac-  •;! 

cept  the  outlet  of  escape  which  the  Paris  University  had  \ 

shrewdly  suggested,  namely,  that  he    had   enunciated  : 

his  proposition  as  a  thesis  for  disputation,  and  not  as  \ 

dogmatic  teaching.^  \ 

1  Book  xii.  chap.  ix.  It  was  quite  in  accord  with  the  prodigality  of 
tliis  Pope  that  he  should  have  scattered  indulgences  with  a  free  hand. 
His  jubilee  bull  (1350)  was  made  out  in  generous  terms.  The  off-hand 
way  in  which  he  therein  lays  his  commands  upon  the  angels  can  hardly 

be  regarded  as  anything  less  than  a  festive  stroke.    Speaking  of  one  who  '; 

should  die  on  the  way  to  the  celebration,  he  says  :  "  Mandamus  angelis  ' 

paradisi,  quod  animam  illius  k  purgatorio  penitiis  absolutam  ad  paradisl 
gloriam  introducant."     (Amort,  pars  i.  sect.  iii.  cap.  iii.) 

2  Raynaldus,  annis  1331,  1334.  The  words  which  he  is  said  to  have 
u?ed  just  before  his  death  are  sufficiently  humble,  and  savor  little  of  the 
consciousness  of  infallibility  :  "  Et  si  forsan  in  praedictis   sermonibus. 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  355 

III.  Gregory  XL,  who  ended  the  "  Babylonish  Cap- 
tivity "  of  the  papacy  by  returning  to  Rome  in  1376, 
died  two  years  later.  The  election  of  a  successor  took 
place  under  the  most  disturbed  conditions.  The  Ro- 
man people  were  determined  to  have  an  Italian  Pope, 
and  reinforced  their  demand  by  fierce  threatenings  and 
by  alarming  demonstrations  around  the  hall  of  conclave. 
The  French  party  deemed  it  prudent  not  to  press  their 
interest.  An  Italian,  the  Archbishop  of  Bari,  who  took 
the  name  of  Urban  VI.,  was  elected.  The  Romans 
were  placated,  but  the  temporary  calm  was  purchased 
at  no  small  price.  The  new  Pope  had  been  only  a  few 
weeks  in  the  chair  of  Peter,  when  a  storm,  destined  to 
last  for  more  than  a  generation,  broke  upon  the  Church. 
Among  the  causes  precipitating  the  trouble,  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Pope,  next  to  the  antagonism  of  the  French 
and  Italian  interests,  was  the  most  conspicuous.  As 
Gregorovius  has  remarked.  Urban  VI.  was  dowered 
with  every  quality  fitted  to  make  him  a  demon  of 
strife.^  He  was  rude,  overbearing,  implacable.  His 
cardinals  were  forthwith  alienated,  especially  those  with 
French  affinities.  Withdrawing  to  Anagni  they  sent 
forth  the  declaration  that  the  election  of  Urban,  as 
having  occurred  under  the  pressure  of  deadly  peril,  was 
invalid.  Their  cause,  no  doubt,  had  a  very  poor  legal 
basis ;  for  although  it  was  true  that  the  electors  had 
been  threatened  with  violence  if  they  should  not  choose 

vel  collationibus  aliqua,  quae  vel  Scripturae  sacrae  seu  fidei  orthodoxae 
quovis  modo  essent  vel  viderentur  obvia,  ipsa  praeter  intentioneni  a  nobis 
fuisse  prolata  dicimus  et  asserimus  eaque  revocamus  expresse,  non  in- 
tendentes  illis  adhaerere,  nee  ea  in  praesenti  defendere,  nee  etiam  in  fu« 
turum." 

1  Geschichte  der  Stadt  Rom  im  Mittelalter,  vol.  vi. 


356  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

an  Italian,  they  had  not  been  compelled  to  cast  their 
votes  for  any  particular  Italian,  and  moreover  had  fol- 
lowed up  the  election  by  acts  implying  a  full  acknowl- 
edgment of  its  validity.^  But  the  merits  of  the  case 
were  not  carefully  inspected.  France  readily  gave  ear 
to  the  disaffected  cardinals,  and  supported  their  nomi- 
nee. Castile,  Aragon,  Scotland,  and  some  others  of 
the  smaller  kingdoms,  followed  the  example  of  France. 
Thus  was  inaugurated  the  most  obstinate  schism  known 
to  papal  history. 

At  the  beginning,  the  contention  was  in  large  part 
a  struggle  between  Avignon  and  Rome,  between  the 
French  and  the  Italian  interest.  Later,  it  assumed 
more  the  character  of  personal  ambition  and  pretension. 
After  Europe  in  general  had  become  heartily  sick  of 
the  strife  and  the  scandal,  the  opposing  claimants  con- 
tinued each  to  assert,  with  desperate  tenacity,  his  ex- 
clusive right.  The  schism  covered  four  pontificates  on 
the  Italian  side ;  namely,  those  of  Urban  VI.,  Boni- 
face IX.,  Innocent  VII.,  and  Gregory  XII.  The  con- 
temporary representatives  of  the  French  and  Spanish 
party  were  Clement  VII.  and  Benedict  XIII.  Not  one 
in  this  list,  unless  it  were  Innocent  VII.,  gained  a  title 
to  respect  or  confidence.  The  unbearable  temper  which 
Urban  VI.  manifested  in  the  first  days  of  his  rule  was 
no  false  prophecy  of  what  was  to  appear  later.     The 

1  Theodoric  a  Niem,  who,  as  an  official  at  the  papal  court,  had  ex- 
cellent means  of  learning  the  facts,  says  that  at  the  time  of  Urban's  in- 
stallation no  one  expressed  a  doubt  as  to  the  validity  of  his  election : 
"  Tunc  nullum  dubium  nullusque  rumor  sinister  erat  in  urbe  Roma, 
etiam  inter  Cardinales  et  alios  quoscunque,  quod  idem  Urbanus  non  esset 
verus  Papa,  aut  quod  per  impressionem  vel  alias  minus  canonice  foret 
electus."    (De  Schismate  Papistico,  lib.  i.  cap.  iii.) 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  357 

pastoral  rod  became  in  his  hand  an  instrument  of  un- 
sparing tyranny.^  Among  the  expressions  of  his  savage 
severity  were  the  torture  and  execution  of  five  of  his 
cardinals.^  His  successor,  Boniface  IX.,  was  guilty 
of  shameless  simony  and  nepotism.^  The  others  earned 
a  well  founded  dislike  by  their  extortion  or  tergiver- 
sation. 

This  time  of  disgrace  and  diminished  power  on  the 
part  of  the  papacy  was  naturally  a  time  of  opportunity 
for  those  who  were  inclined  to  press  for  a  reform.  The 
loosening  of  hierarchical  restraint  gave  scope  to  larger 
freedom  of  thought  and  larger  freedom  of  action.  The 
movements  of  Wycliffe  and  Huss  attained  greater 
breadth  and  momentum  than  would  have  been  possible 
in  the  face  of  an  undivided  and  unencumbered  sover- 
eignty. Many  who  were  unwilling  to  go  as  far  as  the 
English  or  the  Bohemian  reformer  became  nevertheless 
very  free  in  their  animadversions  upon  the  papacy,  and 
very  bold  in  asserting  its  secondary  place  in  church 
constitution.  Indeed,  the  subordinate  position  of  the 
Popes  was  not  merely  set  forth  as  a  matter  of  individ- 
ual opinion,  but  was  formally  promulgated  under  what 
was  clearly  meant  to  be  ecumenical  sanction. 

The  Church  was  in  a  manner  driven  to  this  action 
by  the  exigencies  of  the  case.  All  attempts  to  heal  the 
schism  by  inducing  the  two  Popes  to  resign  had  proved 

1  "Walsingham  describes  the  implacability  of  Urban  VI.  in  these 
strong  terras:  "Vir,  cnjus  captiositas  multis  fait  exitio,  et  sibimet,  ut 
ferunt,  damno.  Rigidus  erat  sibi,  sed  suis  multo  rigidior ;  ita  ut  delin- 
quentibus  nunquam  ignosceret,  aut  eorum  aerumnis  aliquatenus  compa* 
teretur."     (Anno  1389.) 

2  Theodoric  a  Niera,  De  Schismate  Papistico,  lib.  i.  cap.  xlv.-lx. 

3  Ibid.,  lib.  ii. 


358  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

abortive.  There  seemed  to  be  no  way  of  escape  from 
the  fearful  scandal  and  demoralization  which  afflicted 
Christendom,  except  in  resorting  to  a  higher  tribunal. 
What  should  this  be  ?  The  early  history  of  the  Church 
with  its  record  of  councils  which  had  manifestly  occu-  x 

pied  the  place  of  supreme  authority,  furnished  the  an-  '^ 

swer.  It  was  claimed  that  a  council  representative  of  the  j 

Church  at  large  had  plenary  right  to  accomplish  what-  i 

ever  the  health  of  the  Church  might  require,  even  to  | 

the  judging  and  deposing  of  a  pope.     This  principle  was  f 

championed  with  special  vigor  by  the  Paris  University  \ 

under  the  leadership  of  John  Gerson.  In  the  endeavor 
also  to  give  a  practical  application  to  the  principle,  the 
university  took  a  conspicuous  part. 

The  first  of  the  councils  which  was  convened  on  this 
basis  was  that  of  Pisa,  in  1409.  It  dealt  with  the  of- 
fending  Popes  in  a  very  summary  manner,  declaring 
them  deposed  as  being  notoriously  guilty  of  schism,  her- 
esy, contumacy,  and  perjury,  whereby  they  had  scan- 
dalized the  whole  Church.^  In  this  decree  the  council 
addressed  itself  to  only  one  part  of  its  intent.  It  was 
determined  to  fulfil  its  opportunity  to  carry  through 
greatly  needed  reforms.  To  this  end  pledges  were  ex- 
acted of  the  cardinals,  before  they  proceeded  to  elect 
a  Pope,  that  the  council  should  not  be  dissolved  until 
it  had  applied  itself  to  redressing  abuses.  The  pledges, 
however,  proved  to  be  no  adequate  security.  The  new 
Pope,  Alexander  V.,  parried  the  demand  for  reform. 
Having  only  such  consolation  as  might  be  found  in  the 
promise  of  a  new  assembly  for  the  consideration  of  the 
subject,  to  be  convened  after  three  years,  the  council 

1  Raynaldus,  anno  1409. 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS,  359 

was  dissolved.  In  both  parts  of  its  intent  it  had  met 
with  failure  ,  for  the  deposed  pontiffs  refused  to  accept 
its  sentence,  and,  while  the  larger  part  of  Europe  ad- 
hered to  the  nominee  of  the  council,  the  other  two 
claimants  had  some  following.  The  result  was  that 
there  were  three  instead  of  two  who  asserted  their  right 
to  the  papal  honors.  The  case  was  moreover  aggra- 
vated by  another  disagreeable  feature.  Alexander  V. 
died  soon  after  the  dissolution  of  the  council.  It  was 
suspected,  whether  with  or  without  just  cause,  that  he 
had  been  poisoned  by  his  cardinal,  Balthasar  Cossa.  But 
this  cardinal  became  his  successor,  the  notorious  John 
XXIII.,  who  was  charged  by  his  contemporaries  with 
almost  every  namable  crime,  and  was  undoubtedly  one 
of  the  vilest  in  the  catalogue  of  bad  Popes.  Such  was 
the  issue  of  the  high  hopes  and  claims  with  which 
doctors  and  bishops  had  assembled  at  Pisa,  —  the  add- 
ing of  a  third  contestant  of  peculiar  worthlessness  to 
the  two  already  contending  for  the  papal  chair. 

The  task  which  failed  of  accomplishment  at  Pisa  fell 
to  the  Council  of  Constance.  In  convening  this  coun- 
cil the  recently  elected  Emperor  Sigismund  bore  a 
prominent  part.  Though  John  XXIII.  had  reason  to 
dread  the  action  of  a  council  assembled  beyond  the 
bounds  of  Italy,  he  had  been  brought  into  such  straits 
by  Ladislaus,  the  crafty  and  aggressive  King  of  Naples, 
that  he  could  not  well  resist  the  pleasure  of  the  Em- 
peror. Accordingly,  he  subscribed  a  call  for  a  council 
to  be  opened  at  Constance,  November  1,  1414. 

The  attendance  at  the  council  was  very  large.  The 
members,  with  their  following,  amounted  to  eighteen 
thousand.     Among  the  dignitaries  were  three  bearing 


360  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

the  title  of  patriarch,  thirty-three  archbishops,  nearly- 
one  hundred  and  fifty  bishops,  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
four  abbots,  and  about  three  hundred  doctors  of  theol- 
ogy and  canon  law.  Many  representatives  of  secular 
princes  were  also  present.  Altogether,  the  council 
brought  to  Constance  and  its  neighborhood  from  fifty 
to  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people. 

Within  the  council  proper  there  was  no  doubt  much 
diversity  of  temper  and  purpose.  A  considerable  per- 
centage of  the  membership  was  too  closely  allied  with 
the  corrupt  system  of  the  times  to  entertain  any  hearty 
sympathy  with  reform.  But  a  very  fair  proportion 
were  men  imbued  with  a  resolute  intention  to  grapple 
with  existing  evils,  and  to  put  them  under  effectual 
restraint.  The  predominance  of  this  better  element 
was  favored  by  the  peculiar  arrangement  that  the  suf- 
frage should  be  taken  by  nations,  and  should  also  be 
exercised  by  the  doctors,  and  even  by  representatives 
of  princes,  as  well  as  by  bishops  and  abbots.  This  ar- 
rangement diminished  the  relative  weight  of  the  Italian 
officials,  the  factor  most  liable  to  take  the  part  of  ob- 
structionists. 

In  dealing  with  the  schism,  the  council  was  success- 
ful. Early  in  its  sessions,  the  view  that  all  three 
claimants  of  the  papacy  must  be  required  to  abdicate 
came  into  the  ascendant.  Any  disposition  to  recognize 
John  XXIII.  was  hindered  by  reports  of  his  criminal 
and  dissolute  practices.  Finally,  all  charity  toward 
him  was  cancelled  by  his  flight  from  Constance,  with 
the  evident  design  to  break  up  the  council.  He  was 
therefore  formally  deposed  (May  29,  1415).  About  a 
month  later,  Gregory  XII.  voluntarily  abdicated.     This 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  361 

left  Benedict  XIII.  alone  in  the  way.  As  lie  stubbornly 
refused  to  yield  his  ckiim,  he  was  declared  deposed 
(July  26,  1417).  The  council  now  had  matters  in  its 
own  hands.  Many  were  of  the  opinion  that  it  ought  to 
make  the  most  of  its  opportunity ;  that  without  wait- 
ing to  elect  a  pope,  who  would  very  likely  block  the 
wheels  of  reform,  it  should  at  once  legislate  against 
evils  and  abuses  in  the  Church.  Others  argued  that 
in  such  a  work  it  was  most  fitting  that  a  pope  should 
co-operate  with  the  council.  The  division  on  this  sub- 
ject was  not  very  different  from  that  which  took  place 
at  a  more  decisive  crisis  a  century  later.  The  German 
and  English  nations  were  in  favor  of  postponing  the 
election  of  a  pope.  Their  preference,  however,  was 
overborne  by  the  representatives  of  the  Italian  and  the 
Spanish  nations,  and  in  part  by  those  of  the  French 
nation.  The  cardinals,  in  union  with  delegates  from 
the  several  nations,  were  authorized  to  proceed  to  an 
election.  The  choice  fell  upon  the  Cardinal  Colonna, 
known  as  Martin  V.  It  required  no  great  length  of 
time  to  make  it  plain  that  the  experience  of  Pisa  was 
to  be  repeated.  The  council  found  that  it  had  a  rival 
in  the  Pope.  There  was  no  longer  the  unity  which 
was  requisite  to  deal  successfully  with  questions  of 
reform.  The  Pope  was  able,  therefore,  by  entering 
into  concordats  with  the  nations  separately,  to  quiet 
demands  for  the  time  being,  at  the  expense  of  only 
moderate  concessions. 

Among  tlie  more  significant  transactions  at  Constance 
was  the  definition  by  the  council  of  its  own  preroga- 
tives. These  were  set  forth  at  the  fifth  session  in  the 
following  explicit  terms:  "The  Council  of  Constance, 


^62  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH, 

lawfully  assembled  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
forming  an  ecumenical  council  representing  the  Cath- 
olic Church,  has  its  power  immediately  from  Jesus 
Christ,  to  which  every  person  of  whatever  rank  and 
dignity,  the  papal  itself  included,  is  bound  to  yield 
obedience  in  those  things  which  concern  the  faith,  the 
extirpation  of  the  aforesaid  schism,  and  the  general  ref- 
ormation of  the  Church  in  its  head  and  members.  It 
likewise  declares  that  if  any  one,  of  whatever  condition, 
rank,  or  dignity,  the  papal  itself  included,  shall  contu- 
maciously refuse  obedience  to  the  commands,  statutes, 
ordinances,  or  precepts  of  this  or  any  other  ecumenical 
council  legitimately  assembled,  in  relation  to  the  afore- 
said matters  acted  upon  or  to  be  acted  upon,  unless 
he  shall  repent,  shall  be  subjected  to  condign  penance 
and  be  duly  punished."  ^  We  have  here  a  declaration 
that  an  ecumenical  council  is  the  superior  of  a  pope  in 
point  of  authority.  To  be  sure,  the  opening  words 
limit  the  reference  to  the  Council  of  Constance ;  but 
what  follows  extends  the  application  to  ecumenical 
councils  generally.  The  unmistakable  sense  of  the 
decree  is  that  an  ecumenical  council,  as  such,  has  its 
authority  immediately  from  Christ,  and  in  both  of  the 
great  departments  of  ecclesiastical  supervision,  namely, 
faith  and  administration,  has  a  sovereignty  to  which 
that  of  the  Pope  is  subordinate.  This  is  acknowledged 
by  so  prominent  a  Roman  Catholic  writer  as  Alzog. 
"  The  fault  of  the  Council  of  Constance."  he  says, 
"  was  this,  that  it  set  forth  as  a  dogmatic  sentence 
\_dogmatischer  G-rundsatz']^  valid  for  all  time,  that 
v^hich  was  in  a  manner  justified  by  the  necessities  of 
1  Mansi,  torn,  xxvii.  p.  590. 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  863 

the  occasion."  ^  So  far,  then,  as  the  voice  of  the 
council  was  concerned,  the  subordination  of  the  Pope 
was  dogmatically  established  at  Constance.  What 
more  then  was  needed  to  give  it  a  valid  title  to  a 
place  in  Roman  Catholic  dogmatics?  Even  in  the 
view  of  an  Ultramontanist,  nothing  more  could  have 
been  requisite  than  confirmation  by  the  Pope.  And 
this  seems  actually  to  have  been  given.  Of  course,  it 
may  be  surmised  that  Martin  V.  was  not  fully  reconciled 
to  the  notion  of  the  council's  superiority.  But  as  he 
owed  his  own  official  elevation  to  the  action  of  the 
council,  he  could  not  well  assail  its  authority.  Accord- 
ingly, we  have  the  record  that  he  ratified  whatever  in 
matters  of  faith  the  council  had  done  conciliariter.,  that 
is,  in  a  regular  session ;  ^  and  also  required  assent  to 
its  ecumenical  character,  as  appears  in  the  bull  Inter 
Cunctas.  Now,  as  has  been  intimated,  the  council's  defi- 
nition of  its  prerogatives  was  set  forth  as  a  dogmatic 
sentence  or  matter  of  faith.  This,  indeed,  may  be 
denied,  but  not  without  a  certain  inconvenience  on 
the  part  of  a  Romanist.  If  the  definition  of  the  coun- 
cil's prerogatives  at  Constance  is  not  reckoned  among 
matters  of  faith,  then  what  is  to  be  said  of  the  defi- 
nition of  the  Pope's  prerogatives  as  rendered  at  the 
Vatican  Council  in  1870  ?  It  is  not  an  easy  matter, 
therefore,  to  exclude  the  application  of  the  Pope's  bull 

1  Kirchengeschichte,  §  271. 

2  The  text  of  the  ratification  as  given  byMansi  (session  xlv.)  is  as  fol- 
lows :  "  Quibus  sic  factis  sanctissimus  dominus  noster  dixit  respondendo 
ad  praedicta,  quod  omnia  et  singula  determinata,  conclusa  et  decreta  in 
materiis  fidei  per  praesens  concilium  conciliariter,  tenere  et  inviolabiliter 
observare  volebat,  et  nunquam  contravenire  quoque  modo.  Ipsaque  sic 
conciliariter  facta  approbat  et  ratificat,  et  non  aliter,  nee  alio  modo." 


364  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH, 

of  confirmation  from  tlie  famous  decree  of  the  fifth 
session.  In  truth,  a  few  years  later,  at  the  Council  of 
Basle,  this  bull  was  quoted  as  proving  the  superiority 
of  the  council  over  the  Pope.^  Moreover,  the  action 
of  this  council,  in  confirming  the  decree  passed  at  Con- 
stance, seems  to  have  received  the  consent  of  Eugenius 
IV.2  In  view  of  these  facts,  what  judgment  shall  one 
pronounce  upon  the  decree  promulgated  at  the  Vatican 
Council  in  behalf  of  the  Pope's  infallibihty  and  un- 
qualified supremacy?  On  the  one  hand  stands  the 
decree  of  the  council  and  the  confirmatory  sentence 
of  the  Pope  ;  on  the  other  hand,  and  in  direct  contra- 
diction of  the  foregoing,  stands  the  decree  of  the  Pope 
and  the  consent  of  the  council. 

Another  decree  should  be  noticed,  as  also  exalting 
the  importance  of  the  general  council  as  a  factor  in 
church  constitution.  At  the  thirty-ninth  session  it  was 
provided  that  such  a  council  should  be  held  once  in 
ten  years.  The  independence  which  it  was  hoped 
this  decree  would  secure  for  the  council  would  evi- 
dently be  suited  to  make  it  a  very  formidable  authority 
over  against  the  Pope. 

In  addition  to  healing  the  schism  and  inaugurating 
reform,  the  Council  of  Constance  took  up  the  task  of 
extirpating  heresy.  Sentence  was  passed  against  the 
opinions  of  Wycliffe  and  Huss,  and  the  latter  was 
sent  to  the  stake.  A  succeeding  chapter  will  give  the 
details  of   these    transactions.      We   notice   here   only 

1  See  the  excellent  work  of  Lenfant,  Histoire  du  Concile  de  Con- 
stance. 

2  Bossuet,  quoted  in  our  first  volume  of  the  Modern  Church,  pp.  473, 
474. 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  365 

the  somewhat  remarkable  fact,  that  the  men  who  came 
to  Constance  with  the  greatest  zeal  for  reform  had  no 
sympathy  at  all  for  such  a  reformer  as  Huss.  Men  like 
Gerson  and  D'Ailly  showed  no  inclination  to  befriend 
him. 

The  pontificate  of  Martin  V.  covered  the  interval 
between  the  Council  of  Constance  and  that  of  Basle. 
Under  him  a  measure  of  the  lost  prestige  of  the  papacy 
was  regained.  The  tenor  of  the  effort  and  legislation 
at  Constance  was  conveniently  ignored,  and  the  old 
line  of  papal  prerogative  and  practice  was  pursued. 
Even  that  feature  of  papal  administration  which  had 
become  specially  obnoxious,  namely,  its  manifold  modes 
of  extortion,  was  not  perceptibly  ameliorated.  Some 
of  the  most  striking  exposures  respecting  the  insatia- 
ble and  unprincipled  greed  of  the  Pope  and  the  curia 
which  are  on  record  pertain  to  the  time  of  Martin  V.^ 

The  Council  of  Basle  (1431-1449)  was  the  last  in 
the  list  of  reform  councils  which  a  scandalized  and 
awakened  Church  caused  to  be  convened  in  this  era. 
Its  history  is  a  history  of  struggle  against  the  stubborn 
opposition  of  the  papacy,  a  struggle  which  for  a  time 
was  somewhat  successful,  but  finally  ended  in  defeat. 
The  council  was  called  by  Martin  V.,  whose  death 
occurred  at  the  opening.     His  successor,  Eugenius  IV., 

1  See  J.  Voigt,  Stimmen  aus  Rom  iiber  den  papstlichen  Hof  im  fiinf- 
zehnten  Jahrhundert.  The  correspondence  of  the  ambassadors  of  the 
Teutonic  order  which  is  therein  quoted  shows  how  little  reverence  was 
inspired  by  a  close  inspection  of  the  papacy.  In  a  communication  of 
the  year  1429  exhortation  is  given  to  despise  the  ban  of  the  Pope  in  Ger- 
many, as  it  was  despised  in  other  quarters.  "  Only  we  poor  Germans," 
it  is  said,  "  imagine  that  the  Pope  is  an  earthly  god ;  we  should  figure  to 
ourselves  rather  that  he  is  an  earthly  devil,  as  in  truth  he  is." 


366  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

distrusting  his  ability  effectually  to  control  an  assembly 
in  Basle,  undertook,  after  a  very  brief  interval,  to  trans- 
fer it  to  Bologna,  advancing  various  pretences  to  cover 
up  his  real  motive.  But  this  unreasonable  and  per- 
verse attempt  was  met  with  proper  resolution.  The 
Cardinal  Julian  Csesarini,  who  had  been  appointed  to 
preside  over  the  council,  answered  the  reasons  alleged 
for  a  transfer,  and  showed  that  it  would  involve  serious 
damage  in  various  ways,  and  especially  in  breaking  up 
the  negotiations  already  set  on  foot  for  composing  the 
Hussite  troubles.!  In  the  assembled  prelates  gener- 
ally, the  spirit  of  independence  was  stirred  up  by  the 
Pope's  opposition.  Without  regard  to  his  approbation 
the  council  was  formally  opened  (Dec.  14,  1431).  At 
the  second  session  (Feb.  15,  1432),  the  decrees  passed 
at  Constance  respecting  the  supreme  authority  of  the 
council  were  renewed.  In  subsequent  sessions  the 
Pope  was  addressed  as  a  subject  rather  than  as  a  mas- 
ter, and  was  commanded  to  revoke  the  decree  of  disso- 
lution, and  to  present  himself  at  Basle.  For  a  time 
Eugenius  lY.  was  disposed  loftily  to  ignore  all  such 
demands.  At  length,  however,  impelled  by  the  pre- 
carious condition  of  his  affairs  in  Italy,  he  consented  to 
acknowledge  the  council,  and  sent  legates  to  represent 
him  in  its  sessions  (1433).  The  assembly  now  assumed 
very  worthy  proportions,  and,  besides  the  plan  of  an 
agreement  with  the  Hussites,  some  important  measures 
were  passed,  such  as  the  decrees  limiting  papal  reser- 
vations, abolishing  annates,  and  opposing  the  hasty 
imposition  of  interdicts.  This  reform  legislation,  to- 
gether with  the  position  taken  respecting  the  authority 
1  Lenfant,  Histoire  de  la  Guerre  des  Hussites  et  du  Concile  de  Basle. 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  367 

of  a  general  council,  served  as  the  basis  of  the  "  Prag- 
matic Sanction  "  which  was  enacted  by  the  French 
government  in  1438. 

It  was  understood,  even  while  there  was  no  formal 
rupture  between  the  Pope  and  the  council,  that  he 
was  really  its  enemy,  and  only  needed  a  pretext  to 
make  manifest  his  hostility.  Such  a  pretext  was  sup- 
plied by  the  negotiation  of  a  plan  of  union  with  the 
Greek  Church.  The  council  had  hoped  to  secure  the 
Greek  delegates ;  but  the  Pope,  being  sooner  able  to 
provide  means  of  transportation,  put  them  into  relation 
with  himself,  and,  on  the  plea  that  Basle  was  unsuited 
to  the  interest  in  hand,  ordered  the  council,  in  1437,  to 
meet  in  Ferrara.  In  January  of  the  following  year, 
sessions  were  begun  at  the  Italian  city.  Some  months 
later,  owing  to  the  breaking  out  of  a  pestilence,  Flor- 
ence was  made  the  seat  of  the  Pope's  synod  ;  and  here 
the  union  project  with  the  Greeks  was  carried  forward 
to  its  consummation.!  Meanwhile,  the  Council  of  Basle 
asserted  its  authority,  refused  to  be  dissolved,  declared 
Eugenius  IV.  deposed  (1439),  and  installed  as  his  suc- 
cessor Felix  V.  But  this  bold  action  was  not  sustained 
by  public  feeling.  The  memory  of  the  ordeal  which 
had  so  long  tried  their  endurance  was  too  fresh  in  the 
minds  of  the  nations  for  them  to  be  pleased  with  a 
renewal  of  the  papal  schism.  The  nominee  of  the 
council  found  very  little  support,  and  was  constrained 
to  abdicate  in  1449.  In  making  an  unsuccessful  ven- 
ture the  council  lost  prestige,  and  served  to  strengthen 
the  hands  of  its  rival.  During  its  later  years  it  had 
scarcely  more  than  a  nominal  existence. 

1  Considered  more  fully  in  Chapter  IX. 


368  THE  MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

IV.  Nicolas  V.  (1447-1455)  made  a  skilful  use  of 
the  advantage  bequeathed  by  the  successful  competi- 
tiou  of  his  predecessor  with  the  council.  His  pontifi- 
cate, however,  is  less  distinguished  for  political  prestige 
than  for  literary  renown.  He  was  the  first  great  patron 
of  humanism.  Entertaining  the  warmest  appreciation 
for  books  and  for  authors,  he  spared  no  pains  to  enrich 
the  libraries  of  Italy,  and  to  encourage  those  engaged 
in  literary  tasks.  With  a  zeal  which  seems  like  a  prov- 
idential adaptation  to  a  great  crisis,  he  sought  to  con- 
serve the  treasures  of  learning  which  fugitive  Greeks 
were  able  to  bear  away  from  the  Eastern  capital  as  it 
fell,  in  1453,  before  the  Turks.  The  cultivated  tastes 
of  Nicolas  V.  were  also  exercised  in  the  patronage  of 
architecture.  Costly  churches  and  public  edifices  rose 
under  his  auspices.  Among  the  larger  projects  of  this 
kind  which  he  contemplated,  but  left  his  successors  to 
fulfil,  was  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Peter's. 

The  fall  of  Constantinople  gave  occasion  to  a  re- 
newed effort  to  engage  Europe  in  a  crusade.  This  was 
a  leading  interest  with  Calixtus  III.  (1455-1458).  It 
also  fired  the  zeal  of  his  successor,  Pius  II.,  insomuch 
that  he  finally  added  the  force  of  example  to  urgent 
persuasions,  and  consumed  his  failing  strength  in  an 
attempt  to  help  forward  in  person  the  expedition  against 
the  Turks.  Only  an  indifferent  response,  however,  was 
made  to  the  summons  of  either  Pope.  The  spectacle 
of  the  nations  uniting  under  the  papal  headship  in  a 
common  undertaking  had  become  forever  a  thing  of  the 
past.  Too  much  money  had  gone  into  the  papal  treas- 
ury on  the  pretence  of  being  stored  up  for  the  recovery 
of  the   East,    too  long  and   painful   an   experience   of 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  369 

naked  selfishness  and  worldly  greed  in  the  Popes  had 
been  endured,  to  allow  their  call  to  come  to  the  nations 
with  any  moral  power  or  effectual  authority. 

Pius  II.  presents  a  marked  example  of  the  tendency 
of  liberal  principles  to  expire  in  the  chair  of  Peter. 
As  ^neas  Sylvius  he  had  been  the  lax  humanist,  the 
fortune-seeking  litterateur,  the  keen  observer  of  men 
and  things,  whose  sketches  gave  a  remarkably  vivid 
picture  of  his  times,  the  secretary  whose  eloquent  speech 
sustained  the  Council  of  Basle  against  the  Pope  up  to 
the  later  years  of  its  protracted  sessions.  As  Pius  II. 
he  was  none  of  this.  He  was  not  even  a  patron  of  the 
humanists,  and  treated  them  with  a  coldness  which 
caused  them  to  sigh  for  the  days  of  Nicolas  V.^  As  for 
the  principles  which  had  been  published  at  Constance 
and  Basle,  the  word  execrabilis,  which  gives  the  name 
to  a  bull  of  his,  is  no  inapt  index  of  how  they  were  re- 
garded in  his  revised  estimate.  In  this  bull  the  sup- 
position that  an  appeal  may  be  made  from  the  Pope  to 
a  higher  tribunal  is  denounced  in  very  emphatic  terms. 
His  zeal  for  the  old  order  of  papal  claims  came  also  to 
a  conspicuous  manifestation  in  the  effort  which  he  put 
forth  to  secure  the  abolition  of  the  Pragmatic  Sanc- 
tion in  France.  Deluded  by  the  hope  of  compensat- 
ing advantages,  Louis  XL,  in  1461,  surrendered  this 
charter  of  Galilean  liberties,  to  the  great  disappoint- 
ment of  the  nation.^ 


1  G.  Voigt,  Enea  Silvio  de  Piccolomini,  als  Papst  Pius  II.,  und  sein 
Zeitalter. 

^  The  Parliament  refused  to  ratify  the  decree  of  abolition,  and  the 
matter  was  not  regarded  as  so  definitely  settled  but  that  new  action  was 
taken  in  the  reign  of  Francis  I. 

24 


370  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

The  period  extending  from  1471  to  1503,  and  covered 
by  the  pontificates  of  Sixtus  IV.,  Innocent  VIII.,  and 
Alexander  VI.,  was  one  of  almost  unparalleled  infamy 
in  the  history  of  the  papacy.  A  vicious  system  in  the 
hands  of  vicious  men  bore  fruits  which  might  well 
bring  the  blush  of  shame  to  all  interested  in  the  good 
name  of  the  Church.  The  system  was  not  new,  but 
its  rankest  growth  fell  at  this  time.  Gregorovius  de- 
scribes it,  with  characteristic  felicity  of  phrase,  as  fol- 
lows :  "  With  Sixtus  IV.  the  priestly  character  of  the 
Pope  began  to  vanish,  and  that  of  territorial  lord  be- 
came so  prominent,  that  the  successors  of  Peter  in  that 
era  appeared  as  representatives  of  Italian  dynasties,  only 
accidentally  holding  the  place  of  Popes  and  wearing 
the  tiara  in  place  of  the  ducal  crown.  The  thoroughly 
worldly  schemes  to  which  the  Popes  now  devoted 
themselves  required  more  than  ever  the  use  of  worldly 
means,  such  as  financial  speculations,  traffic  in  ofiices 
and  in  matters  of  grace,  unprincipled  arts  of  state-craft, 
and  the  dominance  of  nepotism.  Never  before  was 
nepotism  driven  with  such  recklessness.  It  became 
the  principle  of  the  entire  administration  of  Sixtus  IV. 
Nothing  could  wear  a  more  singular  appearance  than 
did  this  illegitimate  product  in  Rome.  Papal  proteges, 
in  most  instances  the  actual  bastards  of  the  Popes, 
Vatican  princes,  being  brought  upon  the  theatre  of 
Roman  affairs  with  every  new  incumbent  of  the  papal 
office,  advanced  suddenly  to  power,  tyrannized  over 
Rome  and  over  the  Pope  himself,  contended  for  count- 
ships  in  a  brief  round  of  craft  and  intrigues  against 
hereditary  lords  and  cities,  kept  in  good  fortune  often- 
times only  so  long  as  the  Pope  lived,  and  founded,  even 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  371 

when  their  power  went  to  pieces,  new  families  of  papal 
princes.  Such  adjuncts  of  the  Popes  gave  expression 
to  their  personal  sovereignty,  and  at  the  same  time 
were  the  supports  as  well  as  the  instruments  of  their 
worldly  dominion,  their  trusted  ministers  and  generals. 
Nepotism  became  the  system  of  the  Roman  state ;  it 
supplied  the  lacking  principle  of  hereditary  right ;  it 
gave  into  the  hands  of  the  Pope  an  administration 
part}^  and  also  a  means  of  offsetting  the  opposition  of 
the  cardinals."  ^ 

The  favor  of  Sixtus  IV.  to  his  nephews  was  like  the 
sunshine  of  imperial  favor  to  some  fortunate  parasite 
in  the  degenerate  times  of  pagan  Rome.  They  revelled 
in  the  enormous  proceeds  of  accumulated  benefices. 
Peter  Riario,  the  younger  of  the  nephews  who  were 
raised  to  the  dignity  of  cardinal,  had  an  income  of 
60,000  gold  florins.  Yet  even  this  sum  was  inadequate 
to  the  demands  of  the  senseless  prodigality  into  which 
the  unbalanced  young  man  was  plunged  by  the  excite- 
ment of  his  sudden  elevation.  Having  wasted  both 
himself  and  his  fortune,  he  died  greatly  in  debt  at  the 
age  of  twent3^-eight. 

It  needs  hardly  to  be  stated  that  what  the  Pope  gave 
with  one  hand  to  such  creatures  he  gathered  by  violent 
or  questionable  means  with  the  other.  Infessura  may 
have  written  with  some  excess  of  asperity,  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  an  opposing  party,  but  there  is  a  large 

1  Geschichte  der  Stadt  Rom,  vol.  vii.  Some  have  supposed  that 
"  nephew "  was  a  euphemistic  term  in  the  vocabulary  of  more  than 
one  Pope.  Thus  Guicciardini  makes  note  of  the  peculiar  shamelessness 
of  Alexander  VI.  in  that  he  openly  acknowledged  his  sons,  whereas 
preceding  Popes  had  veiled  their  disgrace  by  calling  their  sons  nephews. 
(Istoria  d'  Italia,  i.  25,  26.) 


372  THE  MEDIEVAL  CHURCH. 

element  of  credibility  in  his  words,  when  he  says  that 
the  mingled  pomp  and  avarice,  the  vanity  and  extor- 
tion, the  faithlessness  and  tyranny,  of  the  Pope  earned 
for  him  a  cordial  hatred,  and  caused  his  death  to  be  a 
signal  for  rejoicing.  Perhaps  the  most  odious  of  the 
transactions  charged  against  Sixtus  IV.  was  the  part 
which  he  took  in  the  conspiracy  of  the  Pazzi  against 
the  Medici  in  Florence.  In  the  execution  of  the  atro- 
cious plot,  a  murderous  attack  was  made  upon  Julian 
and  Lorenzo  Medici  during  the  time  of  service  at 
church.  Julian  fell  mortally  wounded  ;  Lorenzo  barely 
escaped  a  like  fate.  The  conspirators  expected  that 
the  populace  would  join  them  and  approve  their  bloody 
work.  But  the  contrary  took  place,  and  the  instigators 
of  the  murder  were  visited  with  summary  vengeance. 
The  Pope's  complicity  in  the  attempted  overthrow  of 
the  Medici  is  beyond  question.  He  may  not  have  coun- 
selled the  shedding  of  blood ;  but  there  is  no  reason  to 
believe  that  he  was  specially  anxious  to  avoid  it.  The 
direction  of  his  sympathies  was  sufficiently  indicated 
by  the  anathemas  which  he  thundered  against  the 
Florentines,  because  their  wrath  had  broken  over  into 
a  swift  and  unsparing  judgment  against  the  conspir- 
ators.^ 

Innocent  VIII.  (1484-1492)  abased  the  papacy  no 
less  than  his  predecessor.  His  great  care  was  to  pro- 
mote and  to  enrich  his  numerous  children.^     To  this 

1  Ludwig  Pastor  concludes  that  the  Pope  liad  cause  to  proceed  against 
the  Medici,  but  thinks  it  unfortunate  that,  instead  of  resorting  to  open 
war,  he  patronized  a  clandestine  scheme  for  seizing  the  persons  of  the 
two  brothers.  (Geschichte  der  Papste  seit  dem  Ausgang  des  Mittelalters, 
ii.  473-481.) 

2  Infessura  says  that  he  had  seven,  born  of  different  mothers.     An 


POPES  AND  COUNCILS.  373 

end,  offices  were  sold  with  perfect  shamelessness.  Still 
further,  the  Pope  sold  himself  to  the  arch-infidel,  and 
engaged  to  serve  as  his  jail-master.  For  the  sum  of 
forty  thousand  ducats  annually  he  held  the  brother 
of  the  Sultan  Bajazet  a  prisoner,  instead  of  employing 
him,  as  a  crusading  zeal  would  have  dictated,  in  weak- 
ening the  Sultan's  power.  How  little  can  be  said  in 
praise  of  this  pontiff  appears  from  the  following  words 
of  Alzog :  "-  His  efforts  to  destroy  the  last  remnants  of 
the  Hussite  heresy,  and  also  to  uproot  the  practice  of 
magic  and  witchcraft,  belong  to  the  better  ecclesiastical 
measures  of  Innocent  VIH."^  How  many  hundreds 
of  innocent  persons  were  miserably  destroyed  as  re- 
puted witches  by  reason  of  the  infatuated  zeal  which 
the  superstitious  bulls  of  this  Pope  fostered,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  estimate. 

Alexander  VI.  (1492-1503),  representing  the  Spanish 
family  of  Borgia,  stands  by  general  consent  for  the  cli- 
max of  papal  wickedness.2     The  bribery  by  which  he 

epigram  of  the  times  has  been  understood  by  some  to  teach  that  he 
had  sixteen.     It  runs  as  follows  : 

"  Octo  Nocens  pueros  genuit,  totidem  puellas, 
Hunc  merito  poterit  dicere  Roma  patrem." 

Cardinal  Hergenrother  gives  the  stages  of  his  evolution  toward  the 
papacy  as  follows  :  first  father,  then  husband,  then  widower,  then  priest. 
(Conciliengeschichte,  Fortsetzung,  §  860.) 

1  Kirchengeschichte,  §  273. 

2  It  is  true  that  some  adventurous  apologists  have  attempted  to  white- 
wash even  this  Pope.  But  the  task  is  a  melancholy  one.  As  Pastor  af- 
firms, in  the  light  of  documentary  evidence,  the  case  is  so  decisive  against 
Alexander  VI.  that  any  attempt  to  rescue  his  character  is  perfectly  fu- 
tile. (Geschichte  der  Papste,  i.  588,  589.)  Cardinal  Hergenrother  seems 
to  have  settled  upon  the  same  conclusion.  (Conciliengeschichte  Fort- 
setzung, §§  805,  873.) 


374  THE  MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

secured  his  election,^  and  the  adulterous  connection 
which  gave  him  five  cliildren,  were  not  perhaps  in  those 
days  tokens  of  extraordinary  turpitude.  They  were 
rather  the  snare  by  which  the  aged  Borgia  was  pre- 
cipitated into  an  unequalled  abyss.  The  crime  by 
which  the  validity  of  his  election  had  been  hazarded 
was  a  spur  to  strengthen  himself  all  the  more  energeti- 
cally by  grasping  every  political  advantage  in  his  reach. 
His  love  for  his  children  and  insatiate  thirst  to  advance 
them  to  princely  greatness  overcame  every  sentiment 
of  righteousness  and  shame.  The  most  abhorrent  ex- 
pedients of  his  predecessors  for  accumulating  money 
took  on  enlarged  proportions.  As  an  old  epigram 
has  it, 

"  Vendit  Alexander  claves,  altaria,  Christum." 

Distinguished  Roman  families  were  despoiled  on  false 
pretences.  The  property  of  dead  cardinals  was  seized  in 
exercise  of  the  "  right  of  spoils,"  and  some  of  the  more 
wealthy  were  believed  to  have  been  poisoned  to  hasten 
the  appropriation  of  their  goods.  Rome  was  in  fact 
terrorized  and  Christendom  ruled  in  the  interest  of  the 
bastards  of  a  Pope,  who  was  supposed  to  be,  in  virtue 
of  his  position,  the  champion  of  priestly  celibacy. 

Alexander  VI.,  no  doubt,  was  greatly  helped  on  the 
road  to  infamy,  and  urged  beyond  his  real  inclination,  by 
the  evil  demon  of  his  pontificate,  his  son,  Csesar  Borgia. 
The  father  became  really  the  servant.  In  Csesar  was 
a  spirit  which  brooked  no  rival  and  stopped  at  no  arti- 
fice.    To  gain  an  open  way  to  the  goal  of  his  ambitions, 

^  Guicciardini  says  he  purchased  openly  the  votes  of  cardinals  by 
offers  of  money  or  positions.     (Istoria  d'  Italia,  i.  11.) 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  375 

he  murdered  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  Gandia,  and 
caused  his  body  to  be  cast  into  the  Tiber.^  So,  at 
least,  many  in  that  age  believed ;  and  while  the  nature 
of  the  case  does  not  allow  of  absolute  proof,  the  corre- 
spondence between  the  criminal  audacity  of  the  assas- 
sination and  the  known  character  of  Csesar  makes  it 
difficult  to  exclude  the  suspicion  that  his  hand  was 
stained  with  a  brother's  blood.  The  murder  of  his 
brother-in-law,  the  husband  of  his  sister  Lucre tia,  he 
undoubtedly  brought  about,  and  that  under  circum- 
stances of  great  atrocity.  These  and  other  crimes  were 
not  unknown  to  the  Pope.  But  from  a  sense  of  in- 
ability to  cope  with  his  son,  as  also  probably  from  a 
certain  satisfaction  in  his  powerful  diabolism,  he  over- 
looked  his  deeds  of  blood.  As  Caesar,  after  being  raised 
to  the  dignity  of  cardinal,  resigned  the  ecclesiastical 
state,  the  Pope  warmly  seconded  his  efforts  to  establish 
himself  as  a  secular  prince.  The  petty  principalities  in 
the  estates  of  the  Church  were  overthrown.  A  more 
thorough  subjugation  of  this  territory  was  made  than 
had  before  been  effected.  Csesar  as  Duke  of  the  Ro- 
magna  had  everything  under  his  hand. 

But  the  ill-gotten  power  vanished  sooner  than  it  was 

1  For  a  narrative  of  all  the  known  details  see  Joannes  Burchardus, 
Diarium  sive  Rerum  Urbanarum  Commentarii  (Jun.,  1497).  The  story- 
indicates  a  prevalence  of  crime  not  a  little  appalling.  The  boatman  who 
saw  the  body  thrown  into  the  river  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  report 
the  matter,  as  being  only  one  of  a  hundred  instances  which  had  come 
under  his  own  observation,  and  about  which  no  inquiry  had  been  made. 
"  Interrogaverunt  pontificis  servitores  cur  ipse  Georgius  tantum  crimen 
non  revelasset  gubernatori  urbis ;  respondet  se  vidisse,  suis  diebus,  cen- 
tum in  diversis  noctibus  varie  occisos  in  flumen  projici  per  locum  pre- 
dictum,  et  nunquam  aliqua  eorum  ratio  habita  fuit;  propterea  de  causa 
hujusmodi  estimationem  aliquam  non  fecisse." 


^376  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

acquired.  A  banquet,  at  which  the  Pope,  Caesar,  and 
a  cardinal  were  present,  was  followed  by  the  severe 
sickness  of  all  three,  —  a  fact  giving  some  ground  for 
the  suspicion  of  poison.  The  Pope  died.  Csesar  in  his 
disabled  condition  could  not  manage  the  transition  to  a 
new  administration  in  his  own  interest.  His  power 
waned  from  day  to  day.  A  year  after  the  death  of  his 
father  he  was  a  prisoner  in  Spain.  After  two  years  of 
confinement,  he  escaped  to  the  King  of  Navarre,  in 
whose  service  he  fell  in  1507. 

The  benefit  of  Csesar  Borgia's  conquests  fell  to  Ju- 
lius II.  If  the  one  object  of  Alexander  VI.  had  been 
to  advance  his  children,  the  one  object  of  Julius  II. 
was  to  build  up  and  to  strengthen  the  temporal  sover- 
eignty of  the  Pope.  A  more  warlike  pontiff  never  sat 
in  the  chair  of  Peter.  His  ambition,  if  more  respect- 
able than  that  of  his  immediate  predecessors,  was  yet 
altogether  worldly.  Whatever  the  gain  may  have  been 
which  his  policy  brought  to  the  papacy,  it  involved  in 
the  issue  great  hazard  and  loss.  The  entanglements 
of  the  Popes  as  temporal  lords  and  political  manoeu- 
vrers  gave  large  opportunities  to  the  great  revolt  from 
the  Roman  Church. 

Leo  X.  (1513-1521),  if  he  shared  little  in  the  martial 
temper  of  Julius,  was  equally  secular  in  tone.  In  place 
of  military  strategy  he  put  the  arts  of  diplomacy.  By 
such  means  he  gained  no  less  an  advantage  than  the 
abolition  of  the  Pragmatic  Sanction  in  France.  Poli- 
tics and  literature  filled  up  his  horizon.  A  liberal  pa- 
tron of  the  learned,  fond  of  sumptuous  fetes,  intent  only 
upon  worldly  advantage,  he  did  nothing  to  appease  that 
growing  demand   for  reform   which  at   length   in   his 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  377 

pontificate   broke   forth   with  irresistible    energy,   and 
began  to  revolutionize  the  face  of  Europe. 

The  review  which  has  been  given  of  the  papacy  in 
the  preceding  pages  affords  naturally  a  partial  ground 
of  inference  as  to  the  state  of  the  clergy  in  general. 
While  their  chiefs  were  giving  such  examples  of  world- 
liness  and  license,  it  could  not  be  expected  that  the 
great  body  of  ecclesiastics  would  be  models  of  self- 
denial,  sobriety,  and  devoutness.  In  fact,  there  is  a 
sad  accumulation  of  testimony  respecting  the  corrup- 
tions and  misdeeds  of  the  clergy.  With  special  fre- 
quency is  the  charge  of  incontinence  urged  against 
them.  In  satires,  in  serious  protests,  in  legislation,  in 
compromises,  in  despairing  comments,  the  evidence  is 
heaped  up  to  a  superfluity  of  proof  that  the  law  of 
celibacy  was,  to  a  very  large  extent,  either  a  nullity  or 
an  occasion  of  infamous  laxity.  The  scandal  of  cleri- 
cal license  engaged  the  attention  of  such  fourteenth 
century  writers  as  Langland  and  Chaucer.^  The  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford,  in  a  list  of  articles  respecting  the 
reformation  of  the  Church  put  forth  in  1414,  charac- 
terized the  licentious  lives  of  the  clergy  as  a  thing  most 
opprobrious  to  the  Church  and  damaging  to  morals.^ 
A  doctor  of  divinity  at  the  Council  of  Constance  de- 
clared that  the  unchastity  of  the  prelates  was  a  matter 
of  common  fame.^  Pope  Nicolas  V.  was  obliged  to 
confess  that  the  clergy  seemed  hardly  to  regard  incon- 

1  See  "  Piers  Ploughman  "  and  "  The  Persones  Tale." 

2  Wilkins,  Concilia,  iii.  364,  365. 

3  "Versum  est  in  proverbium  quod  praelati  tot  nutriunt  meretrices 
quot  familiares." 


878  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

tinence  as  sin.  In  some  quarters  a  proper  regard  for 
the  purit}^  of  their  homes  led  the  people  to  demand 
that  their  priests  should  have  concubines.  Record  of 
such  a  demand  is  found  in  connection  with  Spain  and 
some  of  the  Swiss  Cantons.^  Nicolas  de  Clemangis 
says  that  it  was  insisted  upon  in  a  large  proportion  of 
the  parishes  in  his  time ;  ^  and  Theodoric  a  Niem  speaks 
of  the  Scandinavian  bishops  not  only  as  living  openly 
in  concubinage,  but  as  requiring  their  priests  to  do 
likewise.  How  great  a  despair  of  successful  dealing 
with  the  evil  was  felt  is  indicated  by  the  fact,  that 
both  in  the  Council  of  Constance  and  that  of  Basle 
eminent  men  gave  their  voice  in  favor  of  abolishing 
the  law  of  celibacy. 

In  the  monasteries,  there  were  many  instances  of  a 
like  turpitude.  Nothhig  could  be  more  revolting  than 
the  state  of  things  at  the  renowned  cloister  of  St.  Al- 
bans, as  described  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  in 
a  monitory  letter  to  the  abbot.^  According  to  Nicolas 
de  Clemangis,  matters  had  reached  such  a  pass  in  the 
cloisters  of  women  that  to  take  the  veil  was  to  run  im- 
minent peril  of  a  life  of  prostitution.* 

A  reformation  "  in  head  and  members,"  to  use  the 
oft-repeated  phrase  of  the  councils  of  this  era,  was 
plainly  an  imperative  demand.     It  was  to  the  credit  of 

1  H.  C.  Lea,  Sacerdotal  Celibacy. 

2  De  Ruina  Ecclesige,  cap.  xxii. 

3  Wilkins,  Concilia,  iii.  632,  anno  1490. 

4  "  Quid,  obsecro,  aliud  sunt  hoc  tempore  puellarum  monasteria,  nisi 
qusedam,  non  dico  Dei  sanctuaria,  sed  veneris  execranda  prostibula,  sed 
lascivorum  et  impudicorum  juvenum  ad  libidines  explendas  receptacula ; 
ut  idem  hodie  sit  puellam  velare,  quod  ad  publice  scortandum  exponere." 
(De  Ruina  Ecclesise,  cap.  xxxvi.,  apud  Von  der  Hardt.) 


I 


POPES  AND   COUNCILS.  379 

the  age  that  to  so  large  a  degree  it  struggled  to  fulfil 
this  demand.  It  was  to  the  credit  of  a  great  multitude 
of  earnest  men  and  women,  that  in  the  midst  of  wide- 
spread degeneracy  they  kept  themselves  unspotted  from 
the  world.  Forms  like  that  of  the  saintly  Catharine  of 
Siena  (1347-1380)  appear  all  the  brighter  because  of 
the  sombre  background.^ 

1  See  the  graceful  characterization  by  Gregorovius,  vi.  509-511. 


CHAPTER  III. 

REPRESENTATIVES   OF   CRITICISM   AND   REFORM. 

THE  above  title  does  not  refer  to  those  currently 
termed  ''  Reformers  before  the  Reformation." 
Succeeding  chapters  will  give  to  these  that  special 
consideration  which  their  importance  demands.  We 
have  here  to  make  note  of  several  individuals,  who, 
without  earning  the  technical  designation,  showed  some- 
thing of  the  critical  insight,  and  in  some  cases  some- 
thing also  of  the  moral  earnestness,  which  are  necessary 
in  reformers. 

Near  the  beginning  of  the  period,  the  high  papal 
claims  of  Boniface  VIH.  called  forth  some  noteworthy 
specimens  of  criticism.  Two  men  in  particular  sig- 
nalized themselves  by  the  freedom  of  their  comments, 
namely,  JEgidius  of  Rome  and  John  of  Paris,  the  for- 
mer an  Augustinian  monk  who  became  Archbishop  of 
Bourges,  the  latter  a  Dominican  theologian,  ^gidius 
argues  that  the  Pope's  jurisdiction  is  confined  to  the 
spiritual  domain,  and  that  he  is  guilty  of  usurpation 
against  the  prerogatives  of  princes  when  he  assumes 
control  of  secular  affairs.  His  place  as  the  vicar  of 
Christ  should  be  regarded  as  enforcing  this  limitation. 
For  Christ  renounced  earthly  dominion.  When  the  peo- 
ple wished  to  make  Him  king.  He  fled  from  them ;  and 


CRITICISM  AND  REFORM.  381 

when  one  asked  His  decision  upon  a  temporal  matter, 
He  declined  judgment  in  such  things  as  being  foreign 
to  His  vocation.  His  instructions  also  to  His  disciples 
imply  that  He  wished  them  to  keep  equally  free  from 
the  entanglements  of  the  world.  The  conclusion  that 
he  who  is  so  exalted  as  to  have  dominion  in  things 
spiritual  must  be,  with  still  better  right,  lord  over  things 
temporal,  is  based  on  a  sophism.  Only  in  respect  of 
things  belonging  to  the  same  order  can  we  conclude 
from  the  greater  to  the  less  ;  otherwise,  it  would  follow 
that  he  who  is  a  physician  of  souls  must  needs  be  at 
the  same  time  a  physician  of  bodies. 

Similar  statements  are  found  with  John  of  Paris. 
The  Pope's  prerogative  in  things  temporal  he  confines 
to  a  chief  share  in  the  management  of  ecclesiastical 
goods.  In  this  management,  as  he  teaches,  the  Pope 
is  by  no  means  to  be  counted  irresponsible.  He  can 
be  called  to  give  an  account  of  his  stewardship.  In 
case  of  serious  abuse  he  can  be  deposed,  even  as  a 
bishop  or  abbot  can  be  deposed.  In  relation  to  tem.- 
poral  princes,  the  Pope  has  onl}^  spiritual  weapons  at 
his  command.  It  may  be  allowable  for  him  to  use  such 
for  the  overthrow  of  an  unworthy  ruler ;  but  it  is  to  be 
understood  that  a  reciprocal  right  and  duty  lie  with  the 
temporal  ruler,  it  being  incumbent  upon  him  to  use  his 
temporal  power  to  depose  a  Pope  who  is  clearly  unfit 
for  his  position.  The  plea  that  the  Pope  is  beyond 
reach  of  human  judgment,  since  the  spiritual  man  is 
judged  by  none,  is  groundless ,  for  the  Scriptures  affirm 
the  exemption  of  the  man  who  is  truly  spiritual,  and 
not  of  one  who  merely  holds  a  so  called  spiritual  office. 
In  relation  to  other  members  of  the  hierarchy,  the  Pope 


382  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

has  only  a  qualified  supremacy.  They  are  there  by 
right  of  original  appointment,  as  well  as  he,  and  their 
functions  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  grant  from  him. 
"  The  power  of  the  inferior  prelates,"  says  John  of 
Paris,  ''  is  not  from  God  through  the  medium  of  the 
Pope,  but  immediately  from  God,  and  from  the  suffrage 
and  consent  of  the  people.  For  Peter,  of  whom  the 
Pope  is  the  successor,  did  not  send  the  other  apostles, 
whose  successors  are  the  other  bishops ;  nor  the  seventy- 
two  disciples  whose  successors  are  the  presbyters.  But 
Christ  sent  them  immediately.  Nor  did  Peter  breathe 
upon  the  other  apostles,  to  give  them  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  power  to  remit  sins ;  but  Christ  breathed  on  them. 
Paul  also  says  that  he  received  the  apostolate  not  from 
Peter,  but  immediately  from  Christ,  or  from  God." 
Like  Dante,  John  of  Paris,  accepting  the  fact  of  Con- 
stantine's  donation,  denied  its  validity. 

Still  bolder  specimens  of  criticism  appeared  a  few 
decades  later.  A  principal  occasion  for  these  was 
found  in  the  fierce  onslaught  against  the  German  Em- 
peror which  was  begun  by  John  XXII.  An  additional 
stimulus  to  criticism  was  also  supplied  to  a  very  zealous 
class  by  this  Pope,  inasmuch  as  he  decided  against  the 
Franciscans  of  the  Stricter  Observance,  and,  much  to 
their  disgust,  supported  the  distinction  between  usu- 
fruct and  proper  possession  of  goods.  Among  the 
writings  which  the  agitations  of  the  times  called  forth, 
the  most  important  place  belongs  to  the  Defensor  Pads. 
The  author  is  understood  to  have  been  Marsilius  of 
Padua,  at  one  time  Rector  of  the  Paris  University.  The 
Franciscan  John  of  Janduno  may  have  rendered  him 
assistance. 


CRITICISM  AND  REFORM.  383 

The  tone  and  contents  of  the  Defensor  Pads  are  well- 
nigh  matters  for  surprise.  Propositions  and  arguments 
which  are  commonly  associated  with  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury we  find  here,  before  the  days  of  Wycliffe,  ex- 
pressed with  the  utmost  distinctness-^  The  author 
takes  pains  to  assert  a  relative  independence  for  the 
State.  To  this  end,  he  teaches  that  the  New  Testa- 
ment, unlike  the  Old,  does  not  mix  the  civil  and  the 
religious.  It  is  occupied  rather  with  religious  teach- 
ings, and  no  more  attempts  to  regulate  directly  the 
civil  relations  of  men,  than  it  does  to  give  instruction 
in  medicine,  mathematics,  or  navigation.  The  object 
of  the  State  is  to  secure  the  good  of  men  as  members 
of  a  temporal  order ;  the  object  of  the  Church  is  to 
instruct  and  to  assist  men  as  members  of  a  supernatural 
order.  In  its  own  sphere  the  State  is  not  to  be  coerced 
or  hindered.  To  it  belongs  the  whole  system  of  cor- 
poral punishments.  If  it  chooses  to  proscribe  heresy 
within  its  limits,  it  may  inflict  temporal  punishments 
upon  heretics.  The  Church  cannot  dictate  its  policy 
in  this  matter,  and  must  be  content  with  visiting  its 
own  penalties,  namely,  those  of  an  ecclesiastical  nature, 
of  which  the  maximum  is  excommunication.  The  tem- 
poral jurisdiction  of  the  State  is  properly  regarded  as 
extending  over  all  its  subjects,  the  clerical  as  well  as 
the  lay.  The  immunity  from  civil  jurisdiction  claimed 
by  the  former  should  not  be  granted,  as  such  immunity 
is  a  fruitful  source  of  crimes,  and  is  incompatible  with 
the  interests  of  civil  society.  The  allegiance  of  sub- 
jects is  not  to  be  tampered  with  by  ecclesiastical  man- 

1  "  If  any  one  was  a  forerunner  of  Lntlier  and  Calvin,"  says  Ludwig 
Pastor,  "  it  was  Marsilius."     (Geschichte  der  Papste,  i.  69.) 


884  THE  MEDIMVAL   CHURCH.  \ 

dates.      The    authority  which   assumes   to   cancel    the  | 

obligation  of  oaths,   though  calling  itself  apostolic,  is  | 

rather  to  be  described  as  devilish.     The  priestly  pre-  * 

rogative  of  binding  and  loosing  belongs  within  the 
spiritual  domain,  and  even  there  has  its  important  lim- 
itations. God  alone,  properly  speaking,  can  forgive 
sins ;  the  priest  can  only  adjust  the  penitent's  ecclesi- 
astical relations,  not  his  essential  relations  with  God. 

In  dealing  with  the  theory  of  the  papacy  the  author 
takes  out  the  whole  foundation.  The  words  of  the 
Gospel,  "  Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church,"  he 
applies  not  to  the  confessing  Peter,  but  to  the  Christ 
confessed.  He  rejects  the  plea  that  without  the  Pope 
the  Church  would  be  without  a  head,  claiming  that 
Christ  is  the  head,  who  has  promised  to  be  with  His 
Church  to  the  end  of  the  world.  He  denies  that  Peter 
had  any  primacy  of  authority  among  the  apostles,  and 
maintains  that,  even  if  such  a  primacy  had  been  con- 
ferred upon  him,  it  is  perfectly  gratuitous  to  assume 
that  it  was  transmitted  by  him  to  the  Roman  bishop. 
On  the  basis  of  Scripture,  as  he  takes  pains  to  assert,  it 
is  far  from  clear  that  Peter  was  ever  in  Rome,  and  the 
bishop  of  that  city  might  more  appropriately  be  termed 
a  successor  of  Paul  than  of  Peter.  So  far  was  the 
papacy  from  being  a  part  of  the  original  constitution 
of  the  Christian  Church,  that  at  first  there  was  not  even 
a  distinction  between  presbyters  and  bishops.  The 
power  of  the  Roman  bishop  was  gradually  acquired, 
and  resulted  from  the  prominence  naturally  pertaining 
to  the  chief  pastor  in  the  capital  of  the  world.  His 
authority  rests  upon  convention,  and  is  far  from  final. 
The   Scriptures,  as  interpreted  by  the   great  body  of 


CRITICISM  AND   REFORM.  385 

Christians  in  successive  generations,  are  the  supreme 
authority.  Among  vehicles  for  expressing  the  mind 
of  Christians  the  general  council  takes  precedence. 

Having  thus  assailed  the  theory  of  the  papacy,  the 
author  proceeds  with  like  boldness  to  attack  its  practice. 
His  picture  of  the  Roman  court  is  drawn  with  an  un- 
sparing hand.  "  Those,"  says  he,  "  who  have  crossed 
the  threshold  of  the  Roman  curia,  or,  to  speak  more 
correctly,  the  house  of  merchandise,  the  abominable 
haunt  of  robbers,  know  full  well  that  it  is  the  refuge  of 
all  the  vicious,  who  drive  a  trade  with  things  spiritual 
and  temporal.  For  what  else  does  one  find  there  except 
a  concourse  of  Simonists  from  all  quarters?  What 
else  but  the  clamors  of  advocates,  the  machinations  of 
those  who  feed  on  strifes  and  on  persecutions  of  the 
righteous  ?  The  cause  of  the  innocent  is  likely  there 
to  be  decided  against  them,  or,  unless  they  can  expedite 
it  by  means  of  gold,  to  be  postponed  so  long  that,  finally 
exhausted,  wearied  out  by  innumerable  hardships,  they 
are  compelled  to  abandon  their  cause,  though  it  be  just 
and  worthy  of  commiseration." 

William  Occam,  the  English  Franciscan,  who  entered 
into  close  relations  with  the  German  Emperor  and  used 
his  pen  in  his  behalf,  wrote  with  less  openness  than 
Marsilius.  Imbued  with  something  of  a  predilection  for 
a  subtle  method,  he  brought  forward  arguments  on  both 
sides  of  the  subject.  But  still  the  drift  of  his  discus- 
sion is  sufficiently  clear.  Among  the  most  important 
of  the  points  which  he  makes  against  the  papal  pre- 
rogatives in  things  temporal  is  the  impertinence  of  the 
appeal,  continually  made  by  the  Popes,  to  the  theocratic 
system  of  the  Old  Testament.      Christianity,  he  says, 

25 


386  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

even  as  Pilate  had  the  penetration  to  discover  from  the 
words  of  Christ,  is  not  a  kingdom  of  this  world.  The 
New  Testament  economy  has  not  the  same  relations  to 
the  State  as  had  the  Old  Testament  economy,  so  that 
the  latter  cannot  be  taken  as  a  precedent.  "  In  this 
distinction,"  says  Neander,  "  between  the  Old  and  the 
New  Testament  point  of  view,  we  see  a  downfall  pre- 
pared for  the  theocratic  system  of  the  middle  ages." 

Reference  to  the  papal  schism  has  already  given  oc- 
casion to  note  how  the  voice  of  criticism  and  reform 
claimed  a  hearing  in  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury. Among  the  men  of  that  era  whose  character 
and  opinions  entitle  them  to  the  largest  consideration 
were  Nicolas  de  Clemangis,  John  Gerson,  and  Peter 
d'Ailly.  The  first  of  these  was  little  inclined  to  in- 
novation in  doctrine  or  polity.  His  boldness  was  prin- 
cipally exercised  in  a  moral  censorship.  In  his  Be 
Ruina  Ecclesice  he  uncovers  the  evils  of  the  times 
with  a  remorseless  fidelity.  All  classes,  from  the  Pope 
down,  are  represented  as  coworking  by  their  worldli- 
ness,  their  avarice,  and,  in  a  large  proportion  of  cases, 
their  shameless  vice,  to  bring  in  the  abomination  of 
desolation.  As  a  remedy  for  this  woful  condition, 
Clemangis  emphasized  a  general  turning  unto  God  in 
heart  and  life.  He  had  but  moderate  confidence  in 
the  special  expedients  which  engaged  the  zeal  of  some 
of  his  distinguished  contemporaries.  Even  a  general 
council  seemed  to  him  to  hold  out  little  promise  of 
good,  unless  the  prelates  should  assemble  in  a  spirit 
vastly  different  from  that  by  which  most  of  them 
seemed  to  be  animated.  The  Church,  he  argued,  de- 
served the  humiliation  and  affliction  which  had  over- 


CRITICISM  AND  REFORM.  387 

taken  it,  on  account  of  the  crying  iniquities  of  its 
members,  and  ought  not  to  expect  the  cloud  of  divine 
wrath  to  be  Hfted  until  works  meet  for  repentance  had 
been  brought  forth.  His  watchword,  in  fine,  was  moral 
and  religious  reform,  as  the  essential  preliminary  to 
peace  and  unity  in  the  Church. 

In  Gerson  we  may  note  something  of  the  same  deep 
religious  vein  as  in  Clemangis.  Indeed,  he  is  properly 
classed  among  the  representatives  of  mystical  piety, 
among  the  successors  of  the  Victorines  and  of  Bona- 
ventura.  The  traits,  however,  which  warrant  this  clas- 
sification were  most  conspicuous  in  his  closing  years. 
In  the  middle  period  of  his  life  he  was  a  foremost  actor 
upon  the  theatre  of  public  events.  He  had  a  great 
interest  in  practical  expedients  for  healing  tlie  schism 
and  reforming  the  Church.  As  connected  with  these 
ends,  he  was  much  concerned  with  questions  of  church 
constitution.  His  leading  views  upon  these  questions 
have  already  been  indicated,  inasmuch  as  they  found 
expression  in  the  decisions  of  the  Councils  of  Pisa  and 
Constance,  especially  the  latter.  The  position  which 
he  took,  as  appears  in  his  work  De  Modis  Uniendi  ac 
Reformandi  Ecclesiam^  was  by  no  means  identical  with 
that  of  Marsilius.  He  was  disposed  to  look  upon  the 
hierarchy,  with  its  different  ranks,  as  a  divinely  sanc- 
tioned and  permanent  arrangement.  He  assigned  an 
important  place  to  the  Pope,  only  claiming  that  he 
must  not  be  regarded  as  endowed  with  an  unqualified 
and  irresponsible  authority.  The  Pope,  he  said,  cannot 
properly  be  called  the  head  of  the  Church ;  that  desig- 
nation belongs  to  Christ ;  the  Pope  is  rather  a  foremost 
member,  and  as  such  may  be  styled  the  vicar  of  Christ. 


388  THE  MEDIJ^VAL   CHURCH. 

Under  ordinary  circumstances,  he  holds  the  place  of 
chief  executive.  The  Church,  however,  can  tempora- 
rily dispense  with  his  rule,  and  suffer  no  serious  detri- 
ment. His  right  is  not  indefeasible.  As  being  a  falli- 
ble man,  he  can  err  both  in  faith  and  practice,  and  that 
to  a  degree  which  may  threaten  to  subvert  the  interests 
of  the  Church.  In  such  a  case  he  may  be  deposed. 
The  good  of  a  single  realm  may  justify  the  dethroning 
of  an  hereditary  prince  ;  much  more  then  may  the  good 
of  Christendom  justify  the  deposing  of  a  pontiff  who 
holds  his  place  in  virtue  of  an  election.  An  incor- 
rigible Pope  is  to  be  dealt  w4th  according  to  the  rule 
of  conduct  toward  a  sinning  brother,  as  laid  down  in 
the  Gospel.  If,  after  suitable  effort  to  bring  him  to  a 
better  mind,  he  does  not  show  repentance  and  amend- 
ment, he  is  to  be  treated  as  a  heathen  man  and  a 
publican.  The  prerogatives  of  his  office  cannot  be 
regarded  as  independent  of  character  and  conduct. 
"  That  a  mortal  man  should  claim  the  power  of  binding 
and  loosing  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  wdiile  yet  he  is  a 
son  of  perdition,  given  to  simon}",  avarice,  mendacity, 
unjust  exaction,  and  fornication,  proud,  pompous,  and 
worse  than  the  devil,  is  ridiculous."  The  pastoral 
office,  the  prerogative  to  feed  sheep,  was  given  to 
Peter  on  condition  of  love  to  Christ.  Love  to  Christ 
is  made  known  by  suitable  works.  He  who  does  the 
works  of  the  devil  may  well  be  regarded  as  forfeiting 
the  pastoral  office.  The  proper  tribunal  for  dealing 
with  an  unworthy  and  intractable  Pope  is  the  general 
assembly  of  Christians,  the  ecumenical  council.  Such 
a  council  may  be  called  without  the  consent  of  the 
Pope ;  and  indeed,  where  his  title  is  in  question,  he  can- 


CRITICISM  AND  REFORM.  389 

not  properly  be  regarded  as  having  the  right  either  to 
dictate  the  place  of  meeting  or  to  preside  over  the  ses- 
sions. The  council,  notwithstanding  the  lack  of  the 
papal  presidency,  has  plenary  authority.  Such  consti- 
tutions, canons,  or  decrees  as  it  may  be  pleased  to 
enact  are  of  binding  force,  so  that  in  no  wise  does  it 
lie  within  the  option  of  the  Pope  to  neutralize  or  im- 
pair them  by  his  dispensations. 

The  leadership  of  Gerson  ended  with  the  Council 
of  Constance.  His  spirits  were  not  a  little  dashed  by 
the  poor  success  of  the  council  in  the  matter  of  reform. 
Moreover,  he  found  it  unsafe  to  resume  his  position  as 
Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Paris,  since  his  resolute 
opposition  to  the  doctrine  of  tyranncide  had  earned 
him  the  hatred  of  the  powerful  Duke  of  Burgundy. 
He  passed,  therefore,  from  Constance  into  Bavaria. 
After  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  in  1419,  he 
took  up  his  abode  in  the  city  of  Lyons,  where  he  died 
in  1429. 

The  Cardinal  Peter  d'Ailly,  a  disciple  of  Gerson, 
was  a  leading  spirit  in  the  Council  of  Constance.  He 
coincided  in  general  with  Gerson's  teaching  respecting 
the  prerogatives  of  the  council,  and  pressed  for  a  re- 
form of  abuses.^ 

In  the  time  of  the  Council  at  Basle  we  meet  with  a 
type  of  literature  little  known  to  the  middle  ages,  a 
genuine   specimen  of   historical  criticism.     This    came 

1  On  the  writers  thus  far  noticed  in  this  chapter,  Gieseler  and  Nean- 
der  afford  very  full  information.  The  text  of  the  Defensor  Pads  is 
found  in  Goldastus,  Monarchia,  Roman.  Imp.  Von  der  Hardt's  collec- 
tion of  documents  relating  to  the  Council  of  Constance  gives  the  writ- 
ings of  Clemangis,  Gerson,  and  D'Ailly  bearing  on  questions  of  reform 
and  church  constitution. 


390  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

from  the  hand  of  Laurentius  Valla,  and  consisted  in  a 
disproof  of  the  famous  donation  of  Constantine,  that 
fable  concocted  in  the  eighth  century.  It  was  shown 
by  the  critic,  from  the  phrases  of  the  document  pur- 
porting to  donate  the  Western  Empire  to  the  Pope, 
from  the  lack  of  reference  to  it  in  early  history,  and 
from  the  fact  that  no  Pope  had  ever  been  in  possession 
of  the  power  alleged  to  have  been  conferred,  that  the 
document  could  not  be  genuine.^  Valla  also  declared 
for  the  spuriousness  of  the  Epistle  of  Abgarus  to  Christ, 
and  contended  that  the  so  called  Apostles'  Creed  could 
not  have  been  composed  by  the  joint  agency  of  the 
whole  college  of  apostles. 

Exploits  of  this  kind  in  the  field  of  criticism  natu- 
rally aroused  the  guardians  of  the  faith.  Valla  was 
brought  before  the  Inquisition.  The  good  offices  of 
Alfonso,  King  of  Naples,  saved  him  from  a  capital  in- 
fliction, and  he  made  his  escape  at  the  expense  of 
the  humiliating  ordeal  of  scourging.  Subsequently, 
he  chose  to  tread  in  less  perilous  ways.  His  literary 
talents  commended  him  to  Nicolas  V.,  and  under  the 
favors  of  this  pontiff  the  voice  of  the  critic  was  effect- 
ually silenced. 

1  Nicolas  of  Cusa  had  already  expressed  doubts  about  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  donation  of  Constantine,  and,  independently  of  Valla,  the 
English  bishop,  Reginald  Pecock,  near  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, attempted  a  disproof  on  historical  grounds.  (Pastor,  Geschichte 
der  Papste,  i.  16.) 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   WALDENSES. 

THE  origin  of  the  Waldenses  is  traced  back  with 
sufficient  certainty  to  the  third  quarter  of  the 
twelfth  century.  The  founder  was  Peter  Waldo,  a  rich 
merchant  of  Lyons.  Being  directed  to  serious  thought 
by  the  sudden  death  of  an  acquaintance,  he  concluded 
to  apply  to  himself  the  advice  which  Christ  gave  to 
the  rich  young  man.  Accordingly,  he  distributed  his 
wealth  to  the  poor.  At  the  same  time,  the  little  knowl- 
edge of  Scripture  which  he  had  gained  from  the  ser- 
vices of  the  Church  excited  his  desire  for  a  more 
thorough  introduction  to  the  Bible.  To  gratify  his 
ambition  in  this  direction  he  employed  the  labors  of 
two  men,  who  made  translations  for  him  into  the  ver- 
nacular. What  he  learned  in  this  way  he  felt  impelled 
to  impart  to  others,  many  of  whom  in  their  turn  became 
teachers.  So  ah  association  of  Bible  readers  and  ex- 
pounders was  formed,  which  through  an  ever  widening 
circle  endeavored  to  instruct  the  common  people  in  the 
truths  of  Holy  Writ. 

In  the  above  we  have  the  substance  of  several  medi- 
aeval accounts  respecting  the  rise  of  the  Waldenses. 
One  of  these  is  from  Reinerus,  or  rather  from  the  hand 
of  a  later  writer,  who  added  to  the  treatise  which  the 


392  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

Dominican  inquisitor  had  written  near  the  middle  of 
the  thirteenth  century.  "  Observe,"  says  the  writer, 
"that  the  sect  of  the  Poor  Men  of  Lyons,  who  are 
also  called  Leonists,  arose  in  the  following  manner. 
Once,  when  the  principal  citizens  were  assembled  in 
Lyons,  it  happened  that  one  of  them  died  suddenly 
in  the  presence  of  the  company ;  whereby  one  of  them 
was  so  much  alarmed  that  he  immediately  distributed 
a  large  property  to  the  poor.  And  from  this  cause  a 
great  multitude  flocked  to  him,  whom  he  instructed  to 
be  imitators  of  Christ  and  the  apostles."  ^  Stephanus 
de  Borbone,  a  Dominican  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
gives  a  similar  account  of  the  beginning  of  the  sect, 
stating  that  they  were  called  either  Valdenses  from  the 
first  author  of  their  heresy,  who  was  named  Valdensis, 
or  Poor  Men  of  Lyons,  because  they  first  began  in  that 
city  the  profession  of  poverty.  He  says  he  had  his 
information  from  many  persons  who  had  seen  the  earlier 
members  of  the  sect,  and  more  especially  from  the 
priests  who  served  Peter  Waldo  in  the  work  of  trans- 
lation. On  this  last  point  his  narrative  is  as  follows: 
"  A  certain  rich  man  of  the  said  city  called  Valdensis, 
hearing  the  Gospels,  and  not  having  much  learning, 
yet  being  desirous  to  know  what  they  contained,  made 
an  agreement  with  the  said  priests,  that'  the  one  should 
translate  into  the  vulgar  tongue,  and  that  the  other 
should  write  what  he  dictated ;  and  this  they  did.     In 

1  Contra  Waldenses,  cap.  v.,  Max.  Bib.  Vet.  Patrum,  torn.  xxv.  See 
also  the  same  and  other  documents  in  R.  S.  Maitland's  volume  on  the 
Albigenses  and  Waldenses.  Only  chapter  vi.  in  the  "  Contra  Wal- 
denses "  is  legitimately  attributed  to  Reinerus.  (Dollinger,  Sektenge- 
schichte,  i.  117.) 


I 


THE    WALDENSES.  393 

like  manner  [they  translated]  many  books  of  the  Bible, 
and  authorities  of  the  fathers  which  they  called  Sen- 
tences." He  adds  :  ''  This  sect  began  about  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1170,  under  John,  surnamed  Bolesmanis, 
Archbishop  of  Lyons."  ^  The  account  which  is  im- 
properly attributed  to  Petrus  de  Pilichdorf,  though 
differing  in  some  items,  points  to  the  same  general  con- 
clusion respecting  the  origin  of  the  Waldenses. 

It  appears  from  the  accounts  ascribed  to  Reinerus 
and  Pilichdorf,  that  a  rumor  was  current  at  a  quite  early 
date  embodying  the  notion  that  the  Waldensian  type 
of  sectaries  had  been  in  the  Church  ever  since  the  time 
of  Constantino  and  Pope  Sylvester.^  The  former  of 
the  two  accounts  seems  to  give  a  certain  credit  to  the 
rumor,  inasmuch  as  it  makes  the  sect  of  Leonists  older 
than  the  other  sects  mentioned.  But  in  the  very  next 
chapter  we  have  the  language  quoted  above,  accord- 
ing to  the  plain  import  of  which  the  rich  merchant 
of  Lyons,  who  lived  in  the  twelfth  century,  was  the 
founder  of  the  Leonists  or  Waldenses.  It  must  be  sup- 
posed, therefore,  that  in  the  reference  to  the  antiquity 
of  the  sect  the  writer  was  not  thinking  of  a  definite 
party  occupying  a  distinct  territory,  but  only  of  the 
supposition  that  views  very  similar  to  those  of  the  new 
sectaries  had  long  since  found  adherents ;  otherwise, 
he  stands  in  glaring  contradiction  with  himself,  that 
is,  if  it  be  supposed  that  the  same  person  wrote  both 
chapters. 

As  for  Pilichdorf  (so  called)  he  utterly  discredits  the 

1  Quoted  by  Maitland. 

2  The   writing  attributed  to  Pilichdorf  belongs   to  the  year  1895 
(l^douard  Montet,  Histoire  Litteraire  des  Vaudois  du  Picmont,  p.  150.) 


39-i  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

rumor,  declaring  the  claim  to  a  remote  antiquity  an  in- 
vention for  deceiving  the  simple.  ''  They  lie  when 
they  say  that  their  sect  has  existed  from  the  time  of 
Pope  Sylvester."  ^  His  testimony  indicates  that  among 
the  Waldenses  themselves  the  tradition  of  a  remote 
origin  early  found  place,  and  it  is  understood  that  they 
continued  through  the  following  centuries  to  cherish 
the  same  tradition.  This  leaves  the  association  which 
gathered  about  the  merchant  of  Lyons  to  be  explained 
either  as  an  offshoot  from  a  more  ancient  association,  or 
as  an  independent  growth,  which  soon  coalesced  with  a 
more  ancient  organization.  Where  is  that  more  ancient 
association  supposed  to  have  had  its  seat  ?  In  the  Cot- 
tian  Alps,  the  rugged  country  of  Piedmont,  the  home 
of  the  Vaudois,  lying  between  Turin  on  the  east  and 
Grenoble  on  the  west.  There,  says  the  tradition,  dwelt 
a  people  who  were  preserved  from  the  corruptions 
which  riches  brought  into  the  Church  directly  after  its 
alliance  with  the  State,  —  a  people  who  kept  the  faith  in 
its  purity.  Some  modern  writers  have  raised  this  tra- 
dition to  the  rank  of  indubitable  fact.  What  could  be 
more  positive  in  tone  than  the  following,  which  appears 
in  the  preface  of  quite  an  elaborate  treatise  ?  "  From 
the  apostolic  age  itself  down  to  the  present,  that  vener- 
able Church  has  been  seated  in  the  valleys  of  the  Cot- 
tian  Alps.  There  it  has  never  ceased  to  profess  one 
and  the  same  unvarying  theological  system,  thus  faith- 
fully reflecting  the  sincere  unadulterated  gospel  of  primi- 
tive Christianity ;  and  there,  both  ecclesiastically  and 
morally,  the  practice  of  its  members  has  happily  cor- 

1  Contra    Sectam    Waldensium,  cap.  i.,  Max.   Bib.    Vet.   Patrum, 
torn.  XXV. 


THE    WALDKNSES.  395 

responded  with  their  rehgious  profession."  ^  Such  a 
miracle,  if  it  is  well  authenticated,  certainly  deserves 
to  be  recognized,  for  nowhere  else  can  a  proper  parallel 
be  found.  The  Cottian  Alps  alone  have  been  witness 
to  a  body  of  Christians  who  for  eighteen  centuries  have 
professed  one  and  the  same  unvarying  theological  system. 
A  church  of  this  description  is  simply  a  church  on 
paper.  Very  likely  some  of  the  tenets  which  entered 
into  the  ultimate  system  of  the  Waldensian  faith  claimed 
the  sympathies  of  individual  minds  all  through  the  cen- 
turies. Very  possibly  the  region  of  Piedmont  had  its 
full  share  of  such  minds.  One  can  easily  imagine  that 
the  bold  strictures  which  Claudius  of  Turin  had  passed 
upon  the  worship  of  images  and  saints  left  their  trace 
in  the  sentiments  of  the  people  on  the  neighboring 
heights.  But  the  theory  that  the  complete  Waldensian 
system  had  been  in  force  in  this  region  from  the  early 
centuries  is  a  baseless  fancy.  The  tradition  is  easily 
enough  accounted  for.  The  declaration  that  this  or 
that  opinion  was  no  novelt}^  that  it  had  been  enter- 
tained long  ago,  could  easily  serve  as  a  basis  for  a 
popular  conviction  that  the  earlier  generations  in  that 
region  had  in  general  anticipated  the  faith  of  the  later. 
Indeed,  if  the  Waldenses  had  anything  like  the  desire 
to  strengthen  their  position  by  the  sanctions  of  an- 
tiquity which  has  animated  some  recent  parties,  such 
a  development  could  have  been  prevented  only  by 
special  care.  The  tradition,  then,  as  being  one  that 
might  easily  find  place,  is  more  than  offset  by  the  enor- 
mous improbability  that  for  a  period  of  many  centuries 

1  G.  S.  Faber,  An  Inquiry  into  the  History  and  Tlieology  of  the 
Ancient  Vallenses  and  Albigenses. 


396  THE  MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

the  searching  inspection  of  Rome  should  not  have  dis- 
covered a  distinctively  anti-Romish  sect,  and  that  her 
writers  should  have  recorded  nothing  which  clearly  sup- 
poses its  existence.^  The  few  uncritical  references  to  a 
remote  antiquity  which  are  found  with  Roman  Catholic 
writers  in  the  fourteenth  century  or  later  have  but  little 
weight ;  and  the  evidence  for  the  early  date  of  the  sect 
which  the  Vaudois  writings  have  been  supposed  to 
contain  has  not  been  able  to  endure  a  critical  inves- 
tigation.2 

At  the  beginning  of  their  career  the  Waldenses  had 
no  idea  of  antagonizing  the  Romish  Church.  Their 
movement  was  practical  rather  than  doctrinal.  They 
considered  themselves  as  laboring  within  the  Church 
in  behalf  of  an  earnest  and  self-denying  piety.  The 
only  innovation  which  they  indulged  lay  in  the  stress 
which  they  placed  upon  familiarity  with  the  Scriptures 
and  the  privilege  of  laymen  to  act  as  teachers  and 
preachers.  They  had  no  intention  to  set  aside  the 
regular  priesthood,  but  to  afford  a  much  needed  supple- 

1  It  may  be  noted  that  Martin,  in  his  "  Histoire  de  France,"  refers  to 
a  chronicle,  written  in  the  first  half  of  the  twelfth  century,  which  speaks 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  upper  Alpine  valleys  as  soiled  with  an  inveter- 
ate heresy.  But  this  is  no  statement  that  they  eschewed  Komanism  in 
toto,  or  cherished  the  complete  Waldensian  belief. 

2  For  this  side  of  the  subject  see  Montet,  Histoire  Litteraire  des 
Vaudois  du  Piemont.  It  is  the  conclusion  of  Montet,  that  some  of  the 
Vaudois  writers  have  allowed  their  zeal  for  the  legend  of  the  apostolic 
doctrine  and  origin  of  their  sect  to  get  the  better  of  their  honesty  ; 
'*  Malheureusement  on  ne  se  borna  point  a  enregistrer  la  legende ;  plu- 
sieurs  ecrivains  vaudois,  peu  scrupuleux,  ne  craignirent  point,  dans  le 
but  de  I'e'tayer,  de  falsifier  les  textes  vaudois  ante'rieurs  a  la  Reformation, 
et  meme,  fait  inoui,  plusieurs  documents  contemporains  de  la  Reforme 
protestante." 


THE    WALDENSES.  397 

ment  to  the  priestly  ministrations.  How  far  they  were 
from  designing  a  schism  is  evident  from  the  fact,  that, 
when  they  were  commanded  by  the  Archbishop  of 
L3'ons  to  cease  from  preaching,  they  appealed  to  Rome, 
and  asked  Alexander  III.,  in  1179,  to  confirm  their 
association,  that  they  might  continue  their  work  as  a 
recognized  instrumentality  of  the  Church. 

This  request  was  denied.  But  so  strong  was  the 
conviction  of  the  Waldenses  respecting  their  providen- 
tial vocation,  that  they  persisted  in  their  labors.  The 
papal  condemnation  followed,  and  the  violence  of  per- 
secution was  soon  felt.  The  bonds  with  Rome  being 
thus  in  large  part  sundered,  the  Waldenses  were  free 
to  reap  the  natural  result  of  their  diligent  study  of  the 
Scriptures.  Various  peculiarities  of  the  Romish  system 
were  renounced.  The  development  in  this  direction 
was  not  uniform.  It  is  difficult,  therefore,  to  give  a 
statement  of  belief  which  will  apply  to  the  whole  sect 
in  the  earlier  stages  of  its  history.  According  to  the 
pseudo  Reinerus,  they  maintained  that  a  teaching  which 
cannot  be  proved  by  the  text  of  Scripture  is  without 
authority ;  that  the  Church  had  repeated  the  offence 
of  the  Pliarisees  by  imposing  the  yoke  of  its  traditions ; 
tliat  certain  ceremonies  ordinarily  connected  with  bap- 
tism should  be  abolished  ;  that  a  priest  in  mortal  sin 
could  not  celebrate  the  sacrament  of  the  eucharist,  and 
that  transubstantiation  does  not  take  place  in  the  hand 
of  such  a  priest,  but  rather  in  the  mouth  of  him  who 
worthily  receives  ;  that  indulgences  are  to  be  rejected  ; 
that  a  bad  priest  cannot  absolve,  while  a  good  layman 
has  the  power  of  absolving ;  that  every  good  layman  is 
a  priest ;  that  confirmation,  extreme  unction,  and  orders 


398  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

are  not  to  be  counted  sacraments;  that  the  marriage  of 
the  clergy  ought  not  to  be  prohibited ;  that  the  worship 
of  saints  and  their  relics,  as  also  of  images  and  pictures, 
is  illegitimate  ;  that  Purgatory  is  a  fiction  ;  that  many  of 
the  rites  and  observances  of  the  Church  are  unprofitable 
and  idle  ;  that  a  Christian  should  not  take  an  oath.^ 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  the  Waldenses  generally 
went  so  far  in  their  deviation  from  the  Romish  system 
as  some  of  these  specifications  would  indicate,  until  a 
comparatively  late  date.  Various  of  their  opponents 
are  found  to  have  credited  them  with  a  belief  in  the 
seven  sacraments,  and  with  holding  the  major  part  of 
the  Catholic  faith.'-^  Among  the  earliest  of  their  doc- 
trinal innovations  were  the  limitations  which  they  placed 
upon  the  sovereignty  of  the  hierarchy ;  also  their  denial 
of  purgator}^  together  with  the  associated  tenets  re- 
specting masses,  prayers,  and  alms  for  the  dead. 

Even  after  their  doctrinal  divergence  had  become 
quite  pronounced,  the  Waldenses  did  not,  at  least  uni- 
versally, renounce  all  connection  with  the  Romish 
Church.  We  read  that  in  various  places  they  attended 
the  services  of  the  Romish  priests,  and  allowed  their 
children  to  be  baptized  by  them.  Those  in  Lombardy 
advanced  soonest  to  an  independent  position. 

The  Waldenses  seem  to  have  spread  with  consider- 
able rapidity  in  the  earlier  part  of  their  history.    Before 

1  The  pseudo  Keinerus  gives  the  Waldenses  a  relatively  good  char- 
acter. "  While  all  other  sects,"  he  says,  "  induce  horror  in  the  listener 
by  their  monstrous  blasphemies  against  God,  this  of  the  Leonists  has  a 
great  appearance  of  piety,  in  that  they  live  justly  before  men,  entertain 
a  worthy  belief  respecting  God,  and  hold  all  the  articles  contained  in  the 
symbol."     (Cap.  iv.) 

2  Dollinger,  Sektengeschichte,  ii.  93. 


THE    WALDENSES.  399 

the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  they  were  found  in 
Spain  and  Northern  Italy.  In  the  first  half  of  the  next 
century  they  had  touched  various  points  in  Germany. 
By  the  opening  of  the  fourteenth  century  so  many  had 
settled  in  the  Cottian  Alps,  as  a  refuge  from  persecu- 
tion, that  the  advisability  of  sending  out  colonies  was 
discussed,  and  parties  were  despatched  to  Calabria  and 
other  districts  of  Italy.  In  the  fifteenth  century  some 
of  the  persecuted  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  Bohe- 
mian Brethren,  and  settled  in  their  country.  This  led 
to  interchange  of  communications  between  the  Breth- 
ren and  the  Vaudois,  or  the  Waldenses  in  Piedmont ; 
in  consequence  of  which  the  latter  were  confirmed  and 
encouraged  in  their  views,  or  carried  forward  to  a  more 
distinctly  anti-Romish  position.^ 

Comparative  immunity  was  enjoyed  by  the  Walden- 
ses, for  a  considerable  interval,  in  the  mountain  retreat 
which  served  as  the  head-quarters  of  their  communion. 
But  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth  century  they 
began  to  share  in  the  fiery  trial  which  was  appointed 
to  those  who  raised  a  protest  against  Rome.  In  an- 
swer to  a  summons  sent  forth  in  1487  by  Innocent 
VIII.,  a  powerful  army  crossed  their  borders  both  on 
the  Italian  and  the  French  side.  In  the  first  encounters 
the  ill  prepared  inhabitants  suffered  defeat,  and  their 
lands  were  subjected  to  grievous  devastation.  But  the 
comparative  ignorance  of  the  invaders  respecting  the 
rugged  country  finally  told  greatly  in  favor  of  the  in- 
vaded. Few  of  those  who  came  to  slaughter  the  Vau- 
dois ever  retraced  their  steps. 

1  See  the  valuable  article  of  Herzog  in  his  Encyclopaedia. 


CHAPTER  V. 

JOHN   WYCLIFFE   AND   HIS   FOLLOWERS. 

TOHN  WYCLIFFE  was  undoubtedly  the  boldest 
^  and  the  ablest  of  the  Reformers  before  the  Ref- 
ormation. The  ecclesiastical  history  of  England  from 
its  beginning  to  its  end  presents  scarcely  another  ex- 
ponent of  religious  faith  and  enterprise  who  stands 
upon  the  same  plane  with  him  as  respects  either  origi- 
nality or  breadth  of  achievement.  At  least  as  regards 
the  former  title  to  eminence,  English  history  may  be 
challenged  to  name  his  superior.  Wj^cliffe  was  emphat- 
ically a  pioneer,  pointing  out  in  the  fourteenth  century 
the  course  which  only  daring  souls  were  ready  to  enter 
in  the  sixteenth.  In  a  double  sense  he  was  an  inno- 
vator. Both  in  doctrines  and  methods  of  religious 
work  he  ran  against  the  current  oFTiis  age. 

It  might  be  expected  that  the  biography  of  such  a 
man  would  be  filled  with  stirring  recitals.  As  he  broke 
more  radically  with  the  ecclesiastical  system  of  his 
time  than  did  a  Huss  or  a  Savonarola,  it  might  be  ex- 
pected that  he  would  appear  as  the  centre  of  a  greater 
commotion,  and  that  his  life  would  be  pre-eminently 
rich  in  that  dramatic  interest  which  forms  so  large  an 
element  in  theirs.  But  the  case  is  quite  otherwise. 
The  form  of  Wycliffe  retreats  behind  his  work.     He 


WYCLIFFE  AND   HIS  FOLLOWERS.  401 

is  made  known  to  us  as  the  thinker  and  organizer.  His 
record  bespeaks  a  man  in  whom  intellect  and  will  were 
more  conspicuous  factors  than  sensibility  and  passionate 
enthusiasm.  He  saw  his  way  with  keenness  of  logical 
insight,  and  pursued  it  with  unshaken  resolution.  But 
at  the  same  time  he  pursued  it  without  ostentation ;  he 
held  himself  in  poise,  and  made  no  bids  for  a  showy 
tournament  in  the  sight  of  the  public.  Moreover,  the 
balance  of  factors  in  Church  and  State  tended  to  modify 
the  sharpness  of  assaults  against  his  person.  So  it  re- 
sults that  we  have  a  great  man  and  a  great  work,  but 
no  exciting  drama,  no  list  of  scenes  in  which  the  hero 
rivets  our  attention  by  the  romantic  interest  of  his  ex- 
periences. 

Guided  by  Providence,  or  by  his  own  discretion, 
Wycliffe  took  plenty  of  time  to  lay  the  foundation.  He 
did  not  attempt  his  great  task  until  he  had  been  well 
schooled  in  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  and,  most 
important  of  all,  in  knowledge  of  himself.  Two  thirds 
of  his  life  had  passed  before  he  assumed  to  deal  with 
questions  of  public  concern ;  and  it  was  only  in  the 
last  six  years  of  his  life  that  he  entered,  in  the  more 
positive  and  comprehensive  sense,  upon  the  role  of  the 
reformer.  If  we  suppose  that  he  was  born  about  1320 
and  entered  Oxford  at  the  age  of  fifteen  (no  unusual 
age  to  begin  university  life  in  that  era),  his  world  for 
the  next  thirty  years  was  the  university. 

At  Oxford,  which,  as  one  of  the  great  seats  of  learn- 
ing, had  its  thousands  of  students,^  Wycliffe  passed, 

^  The  halls  for  students  in  the  thirteenth  century  are  said  to  have 
numbered  three  hundred,  each  of  which  could  accommodate  one  hundred 
boarders. 

26 


402  THE  MEDIJ^VAL   CHURCH. 

no  doubt,  through  the  ordinary  mediaeval  curriculum. 
Having  studied  the  seven  arts  composing  the  trivium 
and  quadrivium,  namely,  grammar,  rhetoric,  and  logic, 
music,  arithmetic,  geometry,  and  astronomy,  he  was 
prepared  to  take  up  theology  and  canon  law.  Rising 
erelong  to  the  dignity  of  a  teacher,  he  was  allowed, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  time,  to  exercise  his  im- 
mature powers  in  lecturing  on  the  Bible,  and  finally 
was  advanced  to  the  high  honor  of  lecturing  on  the 
Sentences  of  Peter  Lombard,  in  other  words,  upon  the 
approved  list  of  topics  in  systematic  theology.  Mean- 
while, he  became  a  candidate  for  ofiicial  distinctions. 
He  appears  as  Fellow  of  Merton  College  in  1356,  as 
Master  of  Balliol  in  1360,  and  as  Warden  of  Canter- 
bury Hall  in  1365.  Some  time  within  the  decade  fol- 
lowing this  last  date  he  was  made  Doctor  of  Theology. 
Four  years  previous  to  the  same  date  he  received  (at 
Fillingham)  the  first  of  his  pastoral  charges,  which, 
however,  are  not  supposed  to  have  occasioned  any 
lengthy  absence  from  Oxford.  Lutterworth,  the  last 
of  his  parishes,  and  the  asylum  of  his  closing  years, 
was  appointed  to  him  in  1374. 

Wycliffe,  then,  up  to  Hn  advanced  point  in  his  life 
was  a  man  of  the  university.  As  he  stood  at  Oxford  in 
1365,  he  was  simply  the  scholastic  philosopher.  He  had 
not  attempted  as  yet  to  figure  in  any  other  character. 
He  was  known  as  the  learned  teacher,  the  trained  dis- 
putant, a  man  who  carried  keen  weapons  and  had  a 
sure  thrust,  a  formidable  antagonist  upon  the  field  of 
debate.  Such  qualities  were  a  sure  passport  to  distinc- 
tion. For  the  mediaeval  valuation,  we  may  say  over- 
valuation, of  logic  was  still  rife.     Skill  in  disputation 


WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  403 

was  still  the  scholar's  badge  of  honor.  The  renown  of 
the  master  disputants,  the  keen  metaphysicians  of  the 
preceding  century  —  such  as  an  Alexander  Hales,  a 
Thomas  Aquinas,  and  a  Duns  Scotus  —  still  gave  men 
the  standard  of  estimate.  As  being  in  this  glorious 
succession,  Wycliffe  occupied  a  most  enviable  place 
among  his  English  contemporaries.  He  was  indeed 
regarded  by  them  as  the  most  eminent  scholastic  of 
the  age.  Even  so  strong  an  opponent  as  the  chronicler 
Knighton  spoke  of  him  in  these  terms :  "  In  theology 
he  was  the  most  eminent  doctor  in  those  days.  In 
philosophy  he  was  reputed  second  to  none,  in  scholastic 
studies  incomparable."  ^  Another  tribute  to  his  pre- 
eminent rank  as  a  scholastic,  as  some  have  judged,  may 
be  found  in  the  comparative  immunity  which  he  en- 
joyed, even  after  his  position  was  known  to  be  that 
of  sharp  antagonism  to  the  existing  church  system. 
"  Nothing,"  says  Green,  "  marks  more  strongly  the 
grandeur  of  Wycliffe's  position  as  the  last  of  the  great 
schoolmen,  than  the  reluctance  of  so  bold  a  man  as 
Courtenay,  even  after  his  triumph  over  Oxford,  to  take 
extreme  measures  against  the  head  of  Lollardry."  2  No 
doubt  the  imperious  archbishop  had  other  reasons  for 
moderation  than  awe  of  Wycliffe's  fame  as  a  thinker 

1  Quoted  by  Lechler,  John  Wycliffe  and  his  English  Precursors, 
p.  424.  A  more  remarkable  testimonial  still,  if  its  genuineness  could  be 
trusted,  was  that  which  appeared  in  1406,  in  the  name  of  the  University 
of  Oxford.  While  vouching  for  the  pure  life  and  orthodox  faith  of  Wyc- 
liffe, it  extols  him  as  a  man  "  who  had  written  upon  the  themes  of  logic, 
philosophy,  theology,  and  morals,  without,  we  believe,  an  equal  among 
all  the  representatives  of  our  university."  (Wilkins,  Concilia,  iii.  302.) 
Lechler  is  inclined  to  believe  in  the  genuineness  of  this  document ;  but 
such  an  indorsement  of  Wycliffe  at  that  date  seems  rather  incredible. 

-  History  of  the  English  People. 


404  THE    MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

and  scholar ;  but  we  can  readily  believe  that  directly  or 
indirectly  this  was  one  of  the  causes  which  held  the 
persecutor  in  check. 

What  are  we  to  say  of  this  high  estimate  of  contem- 
poraries ?  Taken  literally,  it  is  no  doubt  overdrawn. 
While  in  recent  times  too  little  account  has  been  made 
of  Wycliffe's  distinction  as  a  great  scholastic  doctor,  a 
full  acquaintance  with  his  writings  is  not  likely  to  make 
him  fairly  a  rival  of  the  more  celebrated  names  of 
scholasticism.  Even  among  those  of  his  own  century 
there  were  two,  namely,  Durandus  and  Occam,  who 
will  in  all  likelihood  continue  to  take  precedence  of  him. 
Within  the  circle  of  scholasticism  Wycliffe  was  not  the 
greatest.  His  honor  is,  that  he  was  not  confined  to  that 
circle,  that  he  was  a  great  deal  more  than  a  scholastic, 
that  he  thought  himself  clear  of  the  trammels  of  the 
school  at  so  many  points,  that  his  nature  was  broad  and 
man3^-sided  enough  to  give  an  ample  place  to  the  prac- 
tical alongside  of  the  speculative,  and  to  correct  the 
aberrations  of  the  latter  by  means  of  the  data  supplied 
by  the  former. 

One  of  the  distinguishing  features  in  the  philosophic 
teaching  of  Wycliffe  was  his  advocacy  of  realism.  Un- 
der the  lead  of  Occam  in  the  fourteenth  century,  nomi- 
nalism^ which  had  been  generally  repudiated  since  the 
initial  stage  of  scholasticism,  claimed  a  revival.  This 
naturally  called  out  the  champions  of  realism.  There 
was  a  division  of  parties  on  the  subject  at  Oxford, 
as  there  was  likewise  at  Paris  and  Prague.  Wyc- 
liffe, like  his  Bohemian  disciple,  John  Huss,  was  an 
emphatic  realist.  His  position  was  essentially  the  Pla- 
tonic.    As  Plato  regarded  universals  —  the  notions  of 


WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  405 

genus  and  species,  the  Ideas  as  they  were  called  in  his 
system  —  as  the  prius  of  all  individual  being,  objec- 
tively the  ground  of  existence  in  individual  things  and 
subjectively  the  principle  of  rational  thinking,  so  also 
did  Wycliffe.  There  was,  however,  this  difference  be- 
tween Plato's  representation  and  that  of  Wycliffe. 
The  former  left  the  relation  of  the  Ideas  to  the  Divine 
Mind  ambiguous.  The  latter  affirmed  with  great  dis- 
tinctness and  emphasis  that  the  Ideas  are  in  the  mind 
of  God.  They  are  the  thoughts  of  God.  God  thinks 
them  in  the  Logos.  The  Logos  is  the  inclusive  con- 
tent of  the  Ideas,  and  as  the  Logos  is  of  the  essence 
of  God,  so  are  the  Ideas.  While  formally  distinguished 
from  God,  they  are  essentially  identical  with  Him.^ 
The  theological  bearing  of  this  tenet  with  Wycliffe 
was  the  same  as  it  has  been  with  others  who  have  held 
it  in  an  equally  unqualified  form.  It  nurtured  in  him 
a  bias  to  go  back  of  the  concrete  to  the  general,  to 
make  the  universal  overshadow  the  individual,  to  mag- 
nify the  agency  of  God  to  the  limitation  of  the  auton- 
omy of  the  creature.  In  a  word,  it  impelled  him,  as 
embracing  it  with  warmth  and  enthusiasm,  to  make 
God  all  in  all.  The  practical  advantage  of  this  tendency 
is  that  it  ministers  to  self-humiliation,  to  devotion,  to 
worship.  Its  speculative  danger  is,  that,  unless  held 
in  check,  it  is  liable  to  push  one  across  the  border  of 
theism  into  the  limbo  of  pantheism.  Wycliffe  at  times 
seems  to  approach  dangerously  near  to  the  pantheistic 
edge.  Joining  the  declaration  that  the  Ideas  which 
God  thinks  in  the  Logos  are  of  the  essence  of  God 
with  the  declaration  that  they  are  at  the  same  time  the 

1  Trialogus,  i.  8-10,  ii.  3. 


406  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

ground  of  being  in  every  existing  thing,  he  stands  in 
face  of  the  conclusion  that  every  existing  thing  is  in 
its  ground  identical  with  God.  Still,  Wycliffe  had  no 
notion  of  accepting  the  pantheistic  outcome,  and  uttered 
his  caveat  against  it.  If  criticism  be  passed  upon  him, 
the  criticism  should  be,  that  on  the  very  difficult  sub- 
ject of  adjusting  the  relation  of  God  to  the  creature 
he  hardly  posited  for  the  latter  a  sufficiently  distinct 
sphere. 

Wycliffe  next  appears  in  the  character  of  patriot  or 
ecclesiastico-political  reformer.  From  1366  to  1378  his 
career  was  such  as  is  most  aptly  described  by  these 
terms.  "  In  the  first  twelve  years  of  his  public  activ- 
ity," says  Lechler,  "  the  worst  mischief  of  the  Church  ap- 
peared to  him  to  be  the  usurpations  of  the  papacy  upon 
the  sovereign  rights  of  the  English  crown,  the  financial 
spoliation  of  the  country  for  the  benefit  of  the  curia  in 
Avignon,  the  general  secularization  of  the  clergy,  includ- 
ing the  monasteries  and  foundations,  simony,  and  the 
corruption  of  morals.  All  these  evils  were  ecclesiastico- 
political  matters ;  and  accordingly  the  means  and  ways 
which  he  recommended,  and  in  part  himself  applied, 
were  chiefly  of  an  ecclesiastico-political  character."  ^ 

In  this  line  of  activitjs  Wycliffe  was  allying  himself 
with  an  already  prepared  public  opinion.  The  nation 
had  long  groaned  under  the  burden  of  papal  exactions. 
In  Wycliffe's  time  the  burden  was  the  more  intolerable, 
because  it  was  manifest  that  the  Popes  were  acting  as 
the  agents  of  a  rival  kingdom,  as  the  lieutenants  of 
France.  It  was  at  the  instigation  of  the  French  King 
that  the  Pope  made  the  galling  demand  upon  Edward 

1  John  W.ycliffe  and  liis  English  Precursors. 


WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  407 

III.  that  the  annual  tribute  stipulated  by  John,  which 
had  long  been  discontinued,  should  be  paid,  together 
with  the  arrears.  This  demand,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
nation  heartily  resented,  and  rejected  by  the  mouth  of 
its  Parliament  in  1366.  Some  have  supposed  that 
Wycliffe  was  a  member  of  this  body  and  a  leading  spirit 
in  its  proceedings.  At  any  rate  a  critic  of  the  decision 
rendered  by  the  Parliament  directed  his  attack  against 
Wycliffe,  and  called  forth  a  reply  from  his  pen.  From 
this  time  Wycliffe  was  known  as  a  leading  champion 
of  the  national  cause.  His  prominence  in  the  eyes  of 
the  government  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  in  1374  he 
was  made  one  of  a  commission  to  treat  with  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Pope  at  Bruges. 

With  characteristic  bent  to  thoroughness,  Wycliffe 
was  not  content  with  putting  in  a  protest  against  the 
spoliations  by  the  Pope.  He  felt  deeply  aggrieved  by 
the  worldliness  of  the  Church  at  large.  It  stirred  his 
indignation  to  think  that  so  many  rich  benefices  were 
being  enjoyed  by  men  who  cared  only  for  the  revenue, 
and  had  no  regard  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  their 
charge.  It  seemed  to  him  a  righteous  thing  that  these 
evil  stewards  should  be  dispossessed,  and,  as  under 
the  circumstances  there  was  no  other  power  to  effect 
this  end,  he  thought  that  the  civil  government  should 
take  the  initiative.  In  developing  this  subject,  he 
showed  how  well  the  scholastic  still  held  a  place  in 
his  composition.  He  must  have  a  theory  as  broad  as 
the  case.  And  so  he  brought  out  his  famous  theory 
of  dominion.  The  ground  that  he  took  was  this.  To 
God  alone  belongs  unqualified  dominion  ;  He  alone  has 
the  unrestricted  right  to  property ;  men  have   only  a 


408  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

delegated  right,  and  this  delegated  right  they  forfeit  hy 
mortal  sin.  Tenure  of  property  depends  upon  the 
state  of  grace  in  the  holder.  "God  is."  he  says,  "and 
has  dominion  over  all.  Each  man  in  his  degree  is 
bounden  to  serve  God,  and  if  he  does  not  render  this 
service  he  is  no  lord  of  goods  of  true  titlte,  for  he  that 
standeth  in  grace  is  the  true  lord  of  things,  and  who- 
ever faileth  by  default  of  grace,  he  falleth  short  of  the 
right  title  of  that  which  he  occupieth,  and  makes  him- 
self unfit  to  have  the  gifts."  ^  This  has  truly  some- 
thing of  a  revolutionary  sound.  But  notice  that  on 
Wycliffe's  premises  it  points  more  largely  to  an  ideal 
ground  of  property  right  than  to  a  practical  standard 
of  decision  among  men.  For  he  held  very  emphati- 
cally the  opinion  that  a  man's  state  of  grace  is  God's 
secret.  Nevertheless,  he  was  not  satisfied  to  leave  the 
theory  without  any  practical  application.  He  used  it 
to  offset  the  notion  that  goods  once  given  to  the  Church 
are  held  by  a  strictly  inalienable  title,  and  drew  the  in- 
ference that  in  cases  of  notorious  misuse  of  spiritual 
positions  the  civil  authority  must  take  pains  to  deprive 
the  incumbent.  In  doing  this,  however,  as  he  was 
careful  to  state,  it  must  proceed  within  the  limitations 
of  law.  He  implies  also  that  the  Church  itself  should 
be  consulted,  and  the  grounds  of  deprivation  brought 
before  its  assemblies.  Presented  under  these  limita- 
tions, the  doctrine  of  dominion  does  not  appear  spe- 
cially extravagant.  Some  have  even  concluded  that  it 
was  not  calculated  to  affect  the  relative  position  of 
Church  and  State.  But  this  can  hardly  be  conceded. 
Wycliffe  expressely  taught  that  the  Scriptures  place  us 

1  Quoted  by  A.  R.  Pennington  in  his  Life  of  Wycliffe. 


WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  409 

under  obligation  to  render  obedience  and  service  even 
to  bad  rulers,  whereas  in  case  of  wicked  priests  they 
impose  no  such  duty  upon  us.  As  applied  to  the  exist- 
ing relation  of  Church  and  State,  Wycliffe's  teaching 
upon  the  subject  favored  to  noticeable  degree  the  pri- 
macy of  the  latter. 

Naturally,  the  champion  of  such  views  was  regarded 
by  the  hierarchy  as  a  dangerous  foe,  who  needed  to  be 
silenced  or  crushed.  The  first  attempt  in  this  direction 
was  at  the  hands  of  the  English  bishops.  In  February, 
1377,  Wycliffe  was  cited  to  appear  before  Archbishop 
Sudbury  and  before  Courtenay  (then  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don), in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.  Wycliffe  presented  him- 
self, but  had  no  occasion  or  opportunity  to  answer 
charges.  The  meeting  broke  up  in  a  tumult,  owing 
to  the  intemperate  language  of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster 
(John  of  Gaunt),  who  came  forward  as  Wycliffe's  de- 
fender. Failing  in  this  attempt,  the  bishops  now  so- 
licited the  aid  of  the  Pope.  The  desired  aid  was  given 
in  generous  measure.  Li  May,  1377,  five  bulls  were 
issued,  designed  to  weave  the  toils  so  effectually  about 
Wycliffe  that  escape  would  be  impossible,  and  calling 
upon  the  King,  the  royal  princes,  the  Privy  Council,  the 
chief  of  the  nobility,  and  the  University  of  Oxford,  to 
render  their  pious  assistance  in  bringing  the  disturber 
to  justice.  A  schedule  of  nineteen  errors  charged 
against   Wycliffe    accompanied    the    bulls. ^      But   the 

1  According  to  Lechler,  the  nineteen  theses  of  WycUfFe  fall,  in  respect 
of  subject  matter,  into  three  groups  :  (1)  That  concerning  rights  of 
property  and  inlieritance.  (2)  That  concerning  church  property,  and  its 
rightful  secularization  in  certain  circumstances.  (3)  That  concerning 
the  power  of  church  discipline  and  its  necessary  limits. 


410  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

meshes  of  the  net  were  not  equal,  even  in  this  case, 
to  holding  the  prey.  Wycliffe  indeed  appeared  before 
the  Pope's  commissioners  and  commenced  to  explain 
and  to  justify  his  teachings.  He  had  not  proceeded 
far,  however,  when  the  conference  was  cut  short  by 
the  interference  of  the  government  and  the  London 
populace  in  his  behalf.  Again  he  went  out  as  free  as 
he  had  come  in,  being  under  injunction  of  silence,  it 
is  true,  but  having  given  no  promise  to  that  effect. 

We  have  now  reached  the  year  1378,  the  year  which 
begins  the  stadium  of  Wycliffe's  career,  in  which  he 
accomplished  his  most  daring,  most  significant,  most 
far-reaching  work.  It  is  here,  if  anywhere,  that  we 
shall  find  warrant  for  the  remarkable  words  of  John 
Milton.  In  his  Areopagitica  he  wrote :  "  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  obstinate  perverseness  of  our  prelates 
against  the  divine  and  admirable  Wycliffe,  to  suppress 
him  as  a  schismatic  and  innovator,  perhaps  neither  the 
Bohemian  Huss  and  Jerome,  no,  nor  the  name  of  Luther 
or  Calvin,  had  been  ever  known.  The  glory  of  reform- 
ing all  our  neighbors  had  been  completely  ours." 

Let  us  see,  then,  how  far  Wycliffe  supplied  the 
proper  basis  for  a  reformation,  if  only  his  age  had 
been  willing  to  builcl  thereupon,  —  how  far  he  fulfilled 
the  double  rule  of  a  reformer  of  theological  principles 
and  a  reformer  of  methods  of  propagating  religious 
truth  among  the  people. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  Wycliffe  anticipated  the  for- 
mal principle  of  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, the  doctrine  of  the  sole  authority  of  Scripture 
as  opposed  to  any  traditions  of  men.  His  own  words 
will  give  ample  evidence  on  this  point.     "  We  ought," 


WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  411 

he  says,  "  to  believe  in  the  authority  of  no  man  unless 
he  say  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  impossible  that  any 
word  or  any  deed  of  man  should  be  of  equal  authority 
with  Holy  Scripture.  .  .  .  Believers  should  ascertain  for 
themselves  what  are  the  true  matters  of  their  faith,  by 
having  the  Scriptures  in  a  language  which  all  may  under- 
stand. For  the  laws  made  by  prelates  are  not  to  be  re- 
ceived as  matters  of  faith,  nor  are  we  to  confide  in  their 
public  instructions,  nor  in  any  of  their  words,  but  as  they 
are  founded  in  Holy  Writ,  since  the  Scriptures  contain 
the  whole  truth.  ...  It  is  the  pride  of  Lucifer,  and  even 
greater  pride  than  his,  to  say  that  the  teachers  of  man's 
traditions,  made  of  sinful  fools,  are  more  profitable  and 
needful  to  Christian  people  than  the  preachers  of  the 
Gospel."  As  regards  the  interpretation  of  Scripture, 
Wycliffe  was  not  at  all  behind  the  writers  of  the  six- 
teenth century  in  asserting  the  right  of  the  individual 
Christian  to  judge  for  himself.  There  is  no  human 
tribunal  set  over  him  to  force  him  to  its  point  of  view. 
But  while  he  has  the  right  of  judgment,  he  has  by  no 
means  the  right  to  exercise  it  in  a  flippant  and  egoistic 
manner.  He  can  judge  properly  only  under  the  con- 
ditions of  a  holy  life  and  great  study.  "  Christian 
men,"  says  Wycliffe,  ''  should  stand  to  the  death  for 
the  maintenance  of  Christ's  gospel,  and  the  true  under- 
standing thereof,  obtained  by  holy  life  and  great  study, 
and  not  set  their  faith  nor  trust  in  sinful  prelates  and 
their  clerks,  nor  in  their  understanding  thereof.  .  .  . 
And  if  Antichrist  say  that  each  man  may  feign  that 
he  has  a  right  faith  and  a  good  understanding  of  Holy 
Writ,  when  he  is  in  error,  let  a  man  seek  in  all  things 
truly  the  honor  of  God,  and  live  justly  to  God  and 


412  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

man,  and  God  will  not  fail  to  him  in  anything  that  is 
needful  to  him,  neither  in  faith,  nor  in  understanding, 
nor  in  answer  aofainst  his  enemies."  ^ 

As  regards  the  material  principle  of  the  Reformation, 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone,  it  cannot 
be  said  that  Wycliffe  so  distinctly  anticipated  the  teach- 
ing of  the  sixteenth  century.  We  need  not  lay  much 
stress,  in  a  comparative  view,  upon  the  fact  that  he  did 
not  make  justification  purely  forensic.  For  while  this 
became  a  tenet  of  Protestantism,  it  was  not  always  as- 
serted at  the  outset.  Luther  certainly,  in  one  and  an- 
other instance,  seems  to  make  justification  something 
more  than  a  forensic  act,  something  more  than  mere 
pardon,  and  to  include  in  it  an  incipient  sanctification. 
He  was  more  intent  to  repudiate  the  Romish  prescrip- 
tions as  to  the  way  of  attaining  justification,  than  the 
Romish  conception  of  justification  itself.  The  chief 
point  in  Luther's  pre-eminence  over  Wycliffe  on  this 
subject  lies  in  the  fact,  that  with  full  consciousness  and 
all  the  energy  of  a  prophetic  vocation  the  German  re- 
former urged  men  to  look  immediately  to  the  atoning 
Redeemer,  and  to  trust  in  Him  alone  for  pardon  and 
salvation.  But  if  Wycliffe  did  not  so  positively  incul- 
cate this  sole  trust  in  Christ  for  justification,  he  did  in- 
culcate it  in  a  negative  way.  With  great  explicitness 
and  decision  he  removed  all  the  intervening  objects 
which  in  the  Romish  system  are  calculated  to  intercept 
the  trust  of  the  believer,  and  prevent  its  being  centred 
in  Christ.     Observe  how  ke  deals  with  such  imperti- 

1  See  Tracts  and  Treatises  of  John  De  Wycliffe,  edited  for  the 
Wycliffe  Society,  London,  1845;  also  Life  and  "Writings  of  John  Wiclif, 
by  Rudolf  Buddensieg. 


WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  413 

nent  mediums  as  an  exaggerated  trust  in  one's  works, 
dependence  upon  the  pardons,  the  indulgences,  and  the 
absolutions  of  the  priesthood,  and  reliance  upon  the 
supererogatory  merits  and  intercessions  of  the  saints. 
As  regards  one's  works,  he  may  in  terms  have  con- 
nected with  them  a  kind  of  merit,  a  meritum  de  congruo^ 
but  in  his  general  system  of  thought  this  reduces  to  a 
quasi  merit.  He  really  held  without  qualification  the 
Augustinian  maxim,  that  all  of  man's  merits  are  God's 
gifts.  ''  We  should  know,"  he  says,  "  that  faith  is  the 
gift  of  God,  and  so  God  may  not  give  it  to  man  except 
He  give  it  graciously.  And  thus,  all  the  goods  which 
men  have  are  the  gifts  of  God.  And  thus  when  God 
rewardeth  a  good  work  of  man,  He  crowneth  his  own 

gift." 

The  system  of  indulgences  Wycliffe  denounces  in 
strong  terms,  calling  it  ''  a  subtle  merchandise  of  Anti- 
christ's clerks,  to  magnify  their  counterfeit  power,  and 
to  get  worldly  goods,  and  to  cause  men  not  to  dread 
sin."  Again  he  remarks:  "  It  is  plain  to  me  that  our 
prelates  in  granting  indulgences  do  commonly  blas- 
pheme the  wisdom  of  God,  pretending  in  their  avarice 
and  folly  that  they  understand  what  they  really  know 
not.  They  chatter  on  the  subject  of  grace  as  if  it  were 
a  thing  to  be  bought  and  sold,  like  an  ass  or  ox."  All 
this  artificial  mechanism  for  removing  sins,  he  contends, 
is  worthless  in  comparison  with  a  penitent  and  God- 
fearing temper.  "Christian  men  should  know  that 
whoever  liveth  best  prayeth  best ;  and  that  the  simple 
pater-noster  of  a  ploughman  who  hath  charity  is  better 
than  a  thousand  masses  of  covetous  prelates  and  vain 
religious." 


414  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

Respecting  auriculur  confession,  Wycliffe  allows  that 
under  proper  conditions  it  might  serve  to  restrain  some 
in  special  need  of  a  curb ;  but  he  plainly  indicates  his 
belief  that  its  universal  prescription  has  no  warrant  in 
Scripture,  and  has  been  the  cause  of  great  demorali- 
zation. 

His  opinion  of  supererogatory  merits  is  thus  ex- 
pressed :  "  The  Pope  and  the  friars  pretend  that  there 
is  laid  up  in  heaven  an  infinite  number  of  supereroga- 
tory merits  belonging  to  the  saints,  above  all  the  merit 
of  Christ,  and  that  Christ  has  set  the  Pope  over  all  this 
treasure,  that  he  may  dispose  of  it  at  his  pleasure,  and 
distribute  therefrom  to  an  infinite  extent,  since  the  re- 
mainder will  still  be  infinite.  All  this  is  wild  blasphemy. 
Neither  the  Pope  nor  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  can  grant 
indulgences  to  any  man  except  as  the  Deity  has  deter- 
mined by  His  just  counsel."  In  the  words  just  cited  we 
have  a  hint  of  Wycliffe's  predestinarianism.  On  this 
subject  he  held  the  full  Augustinian  theory. 

After  denying  the  doctrine  of  superfluous  merits, 
Wycliffe  naturally  could  acknowledge  little  or  no  place 
for  prayer  to  the  saints.  Accordingly,  we  find  him 
using  this  language :  ''  As  the  Scripture  assureth  us, 
Christ  is  the  only  mediator  between  God  and  man. 
Hence  many  hold  that,  if  prayer  were  directed  only  to 
that  middle  Person  of  the  Trinity  for  spiritual  help, 
the  Church  would  be  more  flourishing  and  make  greater 
advances  than  she  now  does,  when  many  intercessors 
have  been  found  out  and  introduced." 

On  the  subject  of  the  Church,  its  officiary,  and  its 
sacraments,  Wycliffe  was  likewise  a  radical  innovator, 
and   a  precursor  of  sixteenth   century  teaching.      He 


WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  415 

took  pleasure  in  considering  the  Church  on  its  invisi- 
ble side,  and,  passing  over  the  Romish  conception  of  a 
definite  outward  organism,  defined  it  as  the  whole  body 
of  God's  elect. 

As  for  the  claims  of  the  papacy,  Wycliffe  treated 
them  with  about  as  little  ceremony  as  did  Luther,  his 
reverence  for  the  successor  of  Peter  being  doubtless 
not  a  little  abated  by  the  great  schism  which,  in  1378, 
began  to  scandalize  Christendom.  Rebutting  the  claim 
that  it  is  necessary  to  believe  that  the  Pope  is  the  head 
of  the  Church,  he  asks,  "  How  then  shall  any  sinful 
wretch,  who  knows  not  whether  he  be  damned  or 
saved,  constrain  men  to  believe  that  he  is  head  of  holy 
Church  ?  Certainly,  in  such  a  case  they  must  some- 
times constrain  men  to  believe  that  a  devil  of  hell  is 
head  of  holy  Church,  when  the  Bishop  of  Rome  shall 
be  a  man  damned  for  his  sins."  Again  he  remarks : 
"  It  is  supposed,  and  with  much  probability,  that  the 
Roman  pontiff  is  the  great  Antichrist."  There  is  no 
need  of  going  to  Rome,  as  he  maintains,  to  find  a  head 
for  the  Church.  ''  If  they  say  that  Christ's  Church 
must  have  a  head  here  on  earth,  true  it  is,  for  Christ 
is  the  head  which  must  be  here  with  His  Church  until 
the  day  of  doom."  Indeed,  Wycliffe  had  so  little  re- 
gard for  the  hierarchical  conception  of  church  govern- 
ment that  he  was  willing  apparently  to  spare  a  good 
deal  besides  the  papacy.  He  emphasized  the  fact  that 
the  primitive  Church  had  only  presbyters  and  deacons, 
and  declared  his  conviction  that  all  orders  above  these 
had  been  introduced  by  Csesarean  pride. 

Wycliffe  criticised  the  scholastic  doctrine  of  the 
sacraments  at  various  points ;  but  his  special  departure 


416  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

in  this  sphere  was  his  denial  of  transubstaiitiation.  In 
the  view  of  his  opponents,  this  was  above  all  other  sins 
of  heresy  the  unpardonable  sin.  Nor  from  their  stand- 
point was  the  verdict  altogether  illogical.  For  if  the 
infallible  authority  of  the  Church  is  the  foundation  of 
Romanism,  its  doctrine  of  the  eucharist,  taken  in  its 
totality,  is  the  next  stone  to  the  foundation,  and  the 
basis  for  an  immense  superstructure.  It  was  with  much 
vehemence  that  Wycliffe  attacked  this  idol,  for  he  re- 
garded it  as  a  chosen  means  of  Satan  to  sink  men  to 
perdition.  As  to  the  positive  view  which  Wycliffe  en- 
tertained of  this  sacrament,  it  may  be  briefly  defined 
by  its  relation  to  two  of  the  Reformation  types,  that  of 
Luther  and  that  of  Calvin.  Lechler,  in  his  admirable 
work  on  Wycliffe,  expresses  the  opinion  that  it  was 
nearer  to  the  former  than  to  the  latter.  To  us,  the 
reverse  appears  to  be  the  truth.  Indeed,  we  think 
that  with  only  moderate  change  of  expression  the  view 
of  Wycliffe  might  be  made  to  appear  identical  with  that 
of  Calvin.  Unlike  Luther,  Wycliffe  taught  that  the 
glorified  body  of  Christ  is  locally  confined  in  heaven. 
Unlike  Luther  also,  he  taught  that  it  is  not  so  pres- 
ent in  the  elements  as  to  be  received  by  the  wicked. 
On  both  of  these  points  he  agreed  with  Calvin ;  and  he 
agreed  further  with  Calvin  in  teaching  a  spiritual  and 
virtual  or  efficacious  presence  of  the  body  of  Christ. 

The  extent  of  Wycliffe's  departure  from  current  beliefs 
might  be  illustrated  in  other  particulars.  He  took  ex- 
ception, for  example,  to  the  enforced  celibacy  of  the 
clergy.  He  also  criticised  monasticism  as  he  found  it 
in  his  day,  and  came  in  particular,  in  his  last  years,  to 
regard  the  mendicant  friars  as  a  public  pest.     His  en- 


WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  417 

counter  with  the  Mendicants  is  said  to  have  been  the 
occasion  of  a  noteworthy  scene  in  his  history.  Wyc- 
liffe,  so  Vaughan  recounts,  was  confined  to  his  chamber 
in  Oxford  by  sickness.  *'  From  the  four  orders  of  friars, 
four  doctors  were  formally  deputed  to  present  them- 
selves to  their  expiring  enemy ;  and  to  these  the  same 
number  of  civil  officers,  called  senators  of  the  city  and 
aldermen  of  the  wards,  were  added.  When  these  per- 
sons entered  the  apartment  of  the  sick  man,  he  was 
seen  stretched  on  his  bed.  Some  expressions  of  sym- 
pathy were  dropped,  and  some  of  hope  concerning  his 
better  health.  But  it  was  presently  intimated  that  he 
must  be  aware  of  the  many  injuries  which  the  whole 
mendicant  brotherhood  had  sustained  at  his  hands,  hav- 
ing been  the  special  object  of  attack  in  many  of  his 
sermons  and  writings ;  and  as  it  was  now  manifest  that 
death  was  about  to  bring  his  course  to  its  conclusion, 
it  was  only  charitable  to  hope  that  he  would  not  con- 
ceal his  penitence,  but  that  with  due  Christian  humility 
he  should  revoke  whatever  he  had  said  tending  to  the 
disreputation  of  fraternities  so  eminent  in  learning, 
sanctity,  and  usefulness.  Wycliffe  continued  silent  and 
motionless  until  this  address  was  concluded.  He  then 
beckoned  his  servants  to  raise  him  in  his  bed  ;  and  this 
done,  he  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  persons  assembled,  and, 
summoning  all  his  remaining  strength,  exclaimed,  '  I 
shall  not  die,  but  live ;  and  shall  again  declare  the  evil 
deeds  of  the  friars ! ' ''  We  can  easily  believe  that  it 
was  a  hasty  retreat  which  was  effected  by  the  honorable 
delegation,  and  that  they  had  a  feeling  that  they  had 
made  an  unfortunate  bid  for  a  death-bed  repentance. 
One  item  more  in  Wycliffe's  views  should  be  men- 

27 


418  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

tioned ;  for  while  it  is  without  special  connection  with 
his  theological  system,  it  indicates  how  decided  became 
his  bent  to  think  for  himself.  I  refer  to  his  attitude 
toward  war.  In  terms  wellnigh  anticipating  the  peace 
policy  of  the  Quakers,  he  denounced  the  barbarous  ap- 
peal to  the  sword.  He  defined  the  right  of  conquest  as 
the  right  of  wholesale  robbery,  and  disparaged  the  honor 
which  the  knight  claimed  as  an  adept  in  slaughter,  by 
comparing  him  with  the  hangman,  who  killeth  more  and 
with  a  better  title. ^ 

We  come  now  to  the  second  part  of  the  twofold 
character  in  which  Wycliffe  appears  as  a  reformer,  and 
have  to  consider  the  practical  expedients  to  which  he 
resorted  for  the  religious  enlightenment  of  the  masses. 
Perhaps  we  shall  not  be  at  fault  in  including  among 
these  that  marvellous  issue  of  tracts  which  engaged  his 
later  years.  No  longer  reposing  confidence  in  the  pat- 
ronage of  the  learned  and  wealthy,  ''  he  appealed," 
says  Green,  "  and  the  appeal  is  memorable  as  the  first 
of  such  a  kind  in  our  history,  to  England  at  large. 
With  an  amazing  industry  he  issued  tract  after  tract 
in  the  tongue  of  the  people  itself.  The  dry  syllogistic 
Latin,  the  abstruse  and  involved  argument  which  the 
great  doctor  had  addressed  to  his  academic  hearers, 
were  suddenly  flung  aside,  and,  b}^  a  transition  which 
marks  the  wonderful  genius  of  the  man,  the  schoolman 
was  transformed  into  the  pamphleteer.  If  Chaucer  is 
the  father  of  our  later  English  poetry,  Wycliffe  is  the 
father  of  our  later  English  prose.  The  rough,  clear, 
homely  English  of  his  tracts,  the  speech  of  the  plough- 
man and  the  trader  of  the  day,  though  colored  with 
1  On  the  Seven  Deadly  Sins. 


WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  419 

the  picturesque  phraseology  of  the  Bible,  is  in  its  liter- 
ary use  as  distinctly  a  creation  of  his  own  as  the  style 
in  which  he  embodied  it,  the  terse  vehement  sentences, 
the  stinging  sarcasms,  the  hard  antitheses  which  roused 
the  dullest  mind  like  a  whip." 

A  second  practical  expedient  was  the  order  of  itin- 
erant preachers  which  Wycliffe  instituted  and  su- 
perintended. They  were  called  the  order  of  ''poor 
priests."  According  to  the  directions  of  their  founder, 
they  preached  the  ethics  and  religion  of  the  Bible  in 
language  level  to  the  understanding  of  the  common 
people.  "These  men  went  forth,"  writes  Lechler,  ''in 
long  garments  of  coarse  red  woollen  cloth,  barefooted, 
with  staff  in  hand,  in  order  to  represent  themselves  as 
pilgrims,  and  their  wayfaring  as  a  kind  of  pilgrimage, 
their  coarse  woollen  dress  being  a  symbol  of  their  pov- 
erty and  toil.  Thus  they  wandered  from  village  to 
village,  from  town  to  town,  and  from  county  to  county, 
without  halt  or  rest,  preaching,  teaching,  warning, 
wherever  they  could  find  willing  hearers ;  sometimes  in 
church  and  chapel,  wherever  any  such  stood  open  for 
prayer  and  quiet  devotion ;  sometimes  in  the  church- 
yard, when  they  found  the  church  itself  closed ;  and 
sometimes  in  the  public  street  or  marketplace."  Refer- 
ring to  this  method  of  evangelism,  Canon  Pennington 
remarks,  "  Wycliffe  was  unquestionably  the  Wesley  of 
his  day." 

The  third  and  most  renowned  of  Wycliffe's  practical 
expedients  for  enlightening  the  masses  was  his  trans- 
lation of  the  Bible  into  English.  The  idea  was  not 
wholly  a  novel  one.  There  had  been  attempts  at  trans- 
lation at  various   intervals   in  the   preceding   history. 


420  THE  MEDIJ^VAL    CHURCH. 

But  none  of  these,  if  we  are  to  judge  by  extant  re- 
mains or  distinct  accounts,  had  resulted  in  tlie  trans- 
ference of  the  whole  Bible  to  the  vernacular.  The 
Anglo-Saxon  versions  comprised  little  besides  the  Pen- 
tateuch, the  Psalter,  a  few  of  the  historical  books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  and  the  four  Gospels.  The  Nor- 
mans are  said  to  have  had  a  version  of  the  Bible  in 
their  own  tongue  in  the  thirteenth  century ;  but  this 
was  not  in  the  language  of  the  great  body  of  the  peo- 
ple, being  French  rather  than  English.  Excluding 
metrical  renderings,  which  were  not  translations  proper, 
it  appears  that  prior  to  the  labors  of  Wycliffe  the  Psalter 
(two  versions  of  which  were  executed  before  the  mid- 
dle of  the  fourteenth  centurj^)  was  the  only  part  of  the 
Bible  that  had  been  rendered  into  Old  English.  The 
enterprise  of  Wj^cliffe  had  also  this  distinctive  feature, 
that  it  was  designed  not  merely  for  the  accommodation 
of  a  few  scholars,  nobles,  or  princes,  but  was  to  serve  pre- 
eminently as  a  means  of  acquainting  the  common  people 
with  Holy  Writ.  Herein  it  challenged  an  obstinate 
prejudice  of  the  age.  What  the  partisans  of  the  hierar- 
chy thought  on  the  subject  is  clearly  enough  revealed 
by  the  language  of  the  chronicler,  Knighton.  In  a 
passage  which  was  probably  written  before  the  year 
1400,  "  he  maintains  that  Christ  gave  the  Gospel,  not 
to  the  Church,  but  only  to  the  clergy  and  doctors  of  the 
Church,  to  be  by  them  communicated  to  the  weaker 
brethren  and  the  laity  according  to  their  need ;  whereas 
Wycliffe  had  rendered  the  Gospel  from  Latin  into  Eng- 
lish, and  through  him  it  had  become  the  possession  of 
the  common  people,  and  more  accessible  to  the  laitj^ 
including  even  women  who  can  read,  than  it  used  to  be 


WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  421 

to  the  well  educated  clergy.  The  pearl  is  now  thrown 
before  swine,  and  trodden  under  foot."^  Some  years 
later  x\rchbishop  Arundel  and  his  suffragans,  in  a  me- 
morial to  the  Pope,  vented  their  indignation  against 
the  work  of  translation  by  calling  it  the  completing  act 
in  the  malice  of  the  arch-heretic. 

The  details  pertaining  to  the  execution  of  this  great 
enterprise  are  lost  to  history.  It  is  commonly  under- 
stood, however,  that  the  first  version  was  completed 
in  1382;  that  the  New  Testament  was  rendered  by 
Wycliffe  himself ;  that  Nicholas  Hereford  rendered  the 
larger  part  of  the  Old  Testament ;  that  the  remainder 
of  the  Old  Testament  (beginning  in  the  Book  of  Baruch) 
was  rendered  by  Wycliffe ;  that  a  revision  of  the  whole 
under  the  editorship  of  John  Purvey  was  completed  by 
1388,  and  that  this  revised  version  was  widely  circu- 
lated. 

How  far  was  this  translation  influential  upon  later 
ones?  What  permanent  contributions  did  it  make  to 
our  English  Bible  ?  An  exact  answer  is  as  difficult  as 
the  question  is  interesting.  Following,  however,  the 
hints  of  skilled  investigators,  we  conclude  that  the  in- 
direct influence  of  the  Wycliffite  version  was  considera- 
ble ;  that  the  direct  influence,  while  perhaps  appreciable, 
was  not  large.  It  exercised  a  moulding  influence  upon 
the  speech  of  the  people ;  it  gave  to  the  peculiar  phra- 
seology of  many  familiar  texts  a  right  of  possession,  so 
to  speak,  which  later  translators  could  not  easily  dis- 
card. In  this  way  it  supplied  materials  to  Tyndale, 
Coverdale,  Whittingham,  and  other  distinguished  archi* 
tects  of  the  English  Bible.     But  as  a  translation  of  a 

1  Lecliler,  chap.  vii.  §  2. 


422  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

translation  (being  from  the  Vulgate),  executed  with 
helps  much  inferior  to  those  which  were  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  later  translators,  it  could  hardly  have 
served  them  to  any  great  extent  as  a  specific  model. 
No  doubt,  the  name  of  Wycliffe  will  always  hold  an 
eminent  place  among  those  whose  shaping  genius  has 
given  us  our  English  Bible.  Still,  impartial  history 
will  probably  assign  the  foremost  position  in  the  honored 
list  of  translators  to  that  tireless  laborer  and  heroic 
martyr,  William  T}- ndale.^ 

What  now  were  the  personal  fortunes  of  W3xliffe  in 
the  midst  of  these  great  innovations  ?  By  his  attack 
upon  transubstantiation  he  forfeited  in  large  measure 
the  support  which  he  had  received  from  the  University. 
In  1381  the  Chancellor  issued  a  mandate  forbidding 
some  of  Wycliffe's  theses  on  tlie  Lord's  Supper  to  be 
longer  taught  in  the  University  as  being  plainly  hetero- 
dox. At  the  middle  of  the  next  year  the  archbishop 
sent  orders  to  the  University  prohibiting  attendance 
upon  the  preaching  of  Wycliffe,  and  requiring  public 
notice  that  he  had  been  suspended  from  all  scholastic 
functions.  Near  the  end  of  the  same  year  he  was  sum- 
moned before  a  provincial  synod  in  Oxford.  According 
to  Knighton,  he  responded  to  the  summons,  and  escaped 
censure  by  a  recantation.  The  former  statement  may 
be  true ;  the  latter,  instead  of  being  sustained  by  any 
evidence,  is  contradicted  by  the  confession  of  Wycliffe, 
which  Knighton  inserts  at  this  point  in  his  Chronicle,  — 
the  confession  being  the  reverse  of  a  retractation.    Such 

1  W.  F.  Moulton,  History  of  the  English  Bible.  J.  I.  Mombert,  Eng- 
lish Versions  of  tlie  Bible.  John  Stoughton,  Our  English  Bible,  its 
Translations  and  Translators. 


WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  423 

was  the  extent  of  the  persecution  against  Wycliffe. 
Without  any  restriction  upon  his  personal  liberty,  or 
any  restraint  upon  his  labors,  except  in  the  University, 
he  was  allowed  to  finish  his  course.  The  last  two  years 
were  spent  in  his  parish  of  Lutterworth.  Meanwhile 
his  principal  adherents,  such  as  Aston,  Repyngdon,  and 
Hereford,  did  not  escape  so  easily.  They  were  pursued 
with  unrelenting  vigor,  and  found  no  refuge  except  in 
recantation  or  exile. 

Wycliffe  died  on  December  31,  1384.  He  died  in 
fellowship  with  the  Church.  Singular  immunity !  In 
an  age  when  free  thought  was  branded  as  treason,  the 
most  daring  innovator,  the  man  who  dealt  his  powerful 
blows  against  the  whole  framework  of  the  Romish  sys- 
tem, passed  to  his  end  unscathed.  This,  however,  in- 
dicates rather  the  restraining  hand  of  circumstances, 
than  the  pleasure  of  the  hierarchy.  What  their  real 
pleasure  was,  they  indicated  clearly  enough  in  1415, 
when,  in  the  great  Council  of  Constance,  they  con- 
demned a  list  of  Wycliffe's  propositions,  and  com- 
manded his  body  to  be  removed  from  consecrated 
ground.  Thirteen  years  later,  the  command  was  ful- 
filled. The  bones  were  exhumed  and  burned,  and  the 
ashes  cast  into  the  neighboring  stream.^ 

The  Council  of  Constance,  which  condemned  John 
Huss  to  the  flames,  was  not  at  fault  in  associating  Wyc- 
liffe's name  with  his.     Huss  was  in  truth  a  disciple  of 

1  The  little  river  Swift.  "  The  little  river,"  in  the  celebrated  words 
of  Thomas  Fuller,  "  conveyed  Wycliffe's  remains  into  the  Avon,  Avon 
into  the  Severn,  Severn  into  the  narrow  seas,  they  to  the  main  ocean. 
And  thus  the  ashes  of  Wycliffe  are  the  emblem  of  his  doctrine,  which  is 
now  dispersed  all  the  world  over." 


424  TEE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

Wycliffe.  Recent  research  has  made  it  entirely  certain 
that  he  drew  largely  from  the  writings  of  the  English 
reformer.^  Thus  the  fire  which  was  kindled  in  England 
ignited  a  kindred  flame  in  distant  Bohemia.  The 
influence  of  Wycliffe  early  started  forth  upon  its  far- 
reaching  circuit. 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  Wycliffe  the  name  of  Lol- 
lards, which  had  been  occasionally  used  before,  became 
the  current  designation  of  those  who  embraced  his 
teachings.  The  name  seems  to  have  been  imported 
from  the  Netherlands.  Some  have  supposed  that  it 
was  derived  from  the  Latin  lolium,  meaning  darnel  or 
tares ;  others  connect  it  with  the  old  German  loUen,  to 
hum  or  whine.  On  either  supposition,  the  satirical  in- 
tent with  which  the  term  was  applied  is  sufficiently 
manifest. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  Lollard  party  was  of  no 
mean  strength.  Knighton  probably  expressed  himself 
in  exaggerated  terms,  when  he  said  that  one  could 
scarcely  meet  two  men  on  the  road  one  of  whom  would 
not  be  found  to  be  a  disciple  of  Wycliffe.  Still,  the 
party  was  numerous,  and  counted  among  its  adherents 
representatives  of  all  the  different  ranks  of  society. 
So  great  was  their  confidence  and  courage  in  1395,  that 
they  presented  to  Parliament  a  document  in  the  interest 
of  reform,  wherein  their  most  radical  beliefs  were  stated 
without  reserve. 

But  the  tide  soon  turned  against  the  Lollards.  The 
revolution  by  which  Richard  IL  was  deposed,  and  the 
house  of  Lancaster  in  the  person  of  Henry  IV.  was 
1  See  Prof.  J.  Loserth,  Wiclif  and  Huss. 


WYCLIFFE  AND  HIS  FOLLOWERS.  425 

brought  to  the  throne,  was  one  in  which  the  hierarchy 
took  a  conspicuous  part.  A  close  alliance  resulted  be- 
tween the  King  and  the  prelates.  To  repay  the  latter, 
and  to  insure  their  continued  support,  Henry  IV.  read- 
ily responded  to  their  request  for  repressive  measures 
against  the  Lollards.  At  the  opening  of  the  year  1401 
the  act  De  Hceretlco  Comburendo,  the  grim  provision  for 
the  burning  of  heretics,  was  entered  into  the  statute- 
book.  This  act  authorized  the  bishops,  not  only  to 
arrest  and  imprison  those  suspected  of  heres}^  but  also 
to  hand  over  obstinate  and  relapsed  heretics  to  the  civil 
officers  "  to  be  by  them  burned  on  a  high  place  before 
the  people."  Scarcely  was  the  law  recorded  before  it 
was  given  practical  application.  In  March,  1401,  Wil- 
liam Sawtree,  a  London  priest,  was  burned  in  Smith- 
field.  Some  years  later,  the  same  place  witnessed  the 
burning  of  John  Badby.  Others  experienced  in  the 
hardships  of  imprisonment  a  fate  scarcely  more  to  be 
coveted. 

The  most  distinguished  victim  was  Sir  John  Old- 
castle,  or  Lord  Cobham.  He  was  a  man  of  distinction, 
having  served  with  credit  in  the  French  wars.  Though 
he  made  no  secret  of  his  opinions,  respect  for  his  char- 
acter secured  him  comparative  freedom  from  attack 
during  the  reign  of  Henry  IV.  But  under  Henry  V. 
he  was  adjudged  a  heretic,  and  consigned  to  the  tower. 
Escaping  thence,  he  remained  concealed  several  years. 
A  high  price  was  set  upon  his  head,  as  he  was  accused 
of  being  the  patron  and  instigator  of  the  insurrection- 
ary movements  which  took  place  at  this  time.  Whether 
there  was  any  truth  in  this  charge  or  not,  it  is  difficult 
to  determine.     Very  different  verdicts  have  been  ren- 


426  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

dered  by  historians.  In  any  case,  all  that  we  know  of 
the  man,  whether  in  life  or  in  the  ordeal  of  martyrdom, 
favors  the  conclusion  that  te  was  loyal  to  his  conscience, 
let  his  attitude  toward  his  King  have  been  what  it 
may.  Having  been  apprehended  in  1417,  he  was  brought 
to  London  and  sentenced  to  the  double  punishment 
of  being  hanged  as  a  traitor  and  burned  as  a  heretic. 
"  This  sentence  was  literally  carried  out.  He  was 
placed  upon  a  sledge,  as  if  he  had  been  a  traitor  of  the 
deepest  dye,  and  thus  dragged  through  the  town  to  St. 
Giles's  Fields.  On  arriving  there  he  was  taken  down 
from  the  sledge,  and,  immediately  falling  on  his  knees, 
he  began  to  pray  for  the  forgiveness  of  his  enemies. 
His  prayer  ended,  he  rose,  and,  addressing  the  assem- 
bled multitude,  warned  them  to  obey  God's  commands 
written  down  in  the  Bible,  and  always  to  shun  such 
teaching  as  they  saw  to  be  contrary  to  the  life  and 
example  of  Christ.  He  was  then  suspended  between 
two  gallows  b}^  chains,  and  the  funeral  pile  was  kindled 
beneath  him,  so  that  he  was  slowly  burned.  So  long 
as  life  remained  in  him,  he  continued  to  praise  God,  and 
to  commend  his  soul  to  His  divine  keeping."  i 

After  the  death  of  Lord  Cobham  no  conspicuous 
leader  appeared  in  the  ranks  of  the  Lollards.  While 
never  wholly  exterminated,  the  party  was  reduced  to  a 
small  remnant,  which  obtained  immunity  only  because 
of  its  quietness  and  obscurity. 

1  Lechler,  chap.  x.  §  6. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

JOHN   HUSS   AND   THE   HUSSITES. 

BOHEMIA  at  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century 
presented  perhaps  a  more  favorable  theatre  for  a 
reform  movement  than  any  other  country  of  Europe. 
The  gospel  message  had  come  to  it  in  the  first  instance 
from  the  East.  Traces  of  its  Greek  origin  were  long 
apparent  in  the  Bohemian  Church.  Even  down  to  the 
beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century  such  customs  were 
prevalent  as  preaching  in  the  vernacular,  marriage  of 
the  clergy,  and  the  extension  of  the  eucharistic  cup  to 
the  laity .^  In  the  course  of  the  century,  it  is  true,  the 
bonds  with  Rome  were  strengthened,  and  there  was  a 
movement  toward  a  more  decided  ascendency  of  the 
Roman  scheme.  But  the  old  order  of  things  could  not 
have  been  wholly  forgotten,  and  whatever  stimulus  may 
have  come  from  this  source  was  reinforced  by  an  intel- 
lectual awakening.  The  founding  of  the  University  of 
Prague  by  Charles  IV.  in  1348  gave  to  Bohemia  the 
first  great  institution  of  learning  which  had  yet  ap- 
peared beyond  the  Rhine.  A  few  years  after  the 
opening  of  its  doors,  it  had  gained  an  attendance  and 
acquired  a  fame  which  made  it  wellnigh  a  rival  of  the 
universities  at  Paris  and  Oxford.     Such  a  rapid  unfold- 

1  Hagenbach,  Kirchengeschichte,  Vorlesung  xxx. 


428  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

ment  of  educational  facilities  was  naturally  of  itself  a 
source  of  mental  quickening  to  the  Bohemians.  At 
the  same  time,  the  extraordinary  development  attained 
by  their  language  supplied  a  ready  vehicle  for  an  un- 
usual diffusion  of  intelligence  among  the  people.  "  The 
state  of  education  and  average  general  culture  in  Bo- 
hemia," says  a  recent  biography  of  Huss,  "  was  higher 
than  that  of  any  other  country,  and  the  Czesko-Slavonic 
language  had  reached  a  pitch  of  flexibility  and  culti- 
vation which  had  not  been  attained  by  any  other  Euro- 
pean tongue  save  that  of  Italy,  where  it  was  rather 
poetry  than  prose  that  was  in  the  ascendant."  ^  Among 
those  who  labored  zealously  and  effectually  to  adapt  the 
Bohemian  tongue  to  theological  use  was  a  representa- 
tive of  the  nobility,  Thomas  Stitny.  His  enlightened 
zeal  in  this  direction  is  very  finely  indicated  by  his 
own  words.  ''  A  sermon  of  St.  Augustine,"  he  says, 
*'  has  encouraged  me  to  be  bolder  in  writing  Bohemian 
books  which  relate  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  for  from 
it  every  one  can  see  how  good  a  thing  it  is  to  read  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  And  those  who  condemn  books  in  the 
Bohemian  language,  even  if  good  ones,  wishing  perhaps 
to  be  the  only  persons  who  appear  wise,  might  well 
dread  the  vengeance  of  God,  when  they  reflect  how 
guilty  those  are  who  wish  to  stop  the  letters  and  neces- 
sary messages  therein,  and  to  prevent  the  Lord  God, 
the  Eternal  Bridegroom,  from  teaching  His  bride  His 
will,  and  comforting  her  in  her  distress  thereby.  Yea, 
justly  would  he  be  in  terror  who  should  stop  the  letters 
of  a  king  addressed  to  his  queen,  if  he  knew  that  the 
king  was  aware  of  it.     And  how  much  greater  is  the 

1  A.  H.  Wratislaw. 


JOHN  IIUSS  AND    THE  HUSSITES.  429 

Lord  God  than  any  king  !  How  much  dearer  to  Him 
is  His  bride  —  that  is  every  soul  that  longeth  for  Him 
—  than  was  any  queen  dear  to  any  king  !  Wiser  men 
understand  this,  and  know  that  a  Bohemian  is  as  pre- 
cious to  Him  as  a  Latinist." 

Among  the  clergy  in  Bohemia  three  men  in  particu- 
lar may  be  regarded  as  the  precursors  of  Huss ;  namely, 
Conrad  of  Waldhausen,  Milicz  of  Kremsier,  and  Mat- 
thias of  Janow.  Conrad  was  a  native  of  Austria,  and 
was  known  as  an  effective  preacher  at  Vienna  before 
his  arrival  in  Bohemia,  which  occurred  about  the  year 
1360.  His  great  aim  was  a  reform  in  the  lives  of  the 
people  and  the  clergy.  Accepting  the  current  system 
of  doctrine,  he  employed  all  his  energy  in  assailing  cor- 
ruptions in  practice.  Much  attention  was  awakened  by 
his  stirring  addresses,  insomuch  that  the  church  where 
he  ministered  at  Prague  became  too  narrow  to  contain 
the  assembled  crowd.  As  a  moral  censor,  he  naturally 
made  enemies.  The  mendicant  monks  in  particular 
were  displeased  with  his  severe  criticisms,  and  it  was 
probably  owing  to  their  accusations  that  he  had  oc- 
casion to  defend  himself  before  the  Pope's  legate.  Con- 
rad died  in  1369.  A  contemporary  has  thus  described 
the  wholesome  effect  of  his  labors :  ''  A  man  of  great 
learning  and  greater  eloquence,  he  saw,  when  he  came 
to  Bohemia,  all  men  given  up  to  excessive  luxury,  and 
exceeding  all  limits  in  many  respects ;  and  through  his 
preaching  he  so  reformed  the  morals  of  people  in  our 
country,  that  many  put  aside  the  vanities  of  this  woild 
and  served  God  with  zeal."  ^ 

Milicz,  though  probably  at  the  time  in  holy  orders, 
1  Benesz  Krabice,  quoted  by  Wratislaw. 


430  THE  MEDhEVAL    CHURCH. 

was  for  a  considerable  interval  in  government  employ, 
first  at  the  court  of  the  Margrave  John  of  Moravia,  and 
then  at  that  of  the  Emperor  Charles  IV.  In  1363,  re- 
signing his  offices,  he  betook  himself  to  the  one  task  of 
preaching  the  gospel.  At  first  his  style  of  addi'ess  was 
not  attractive ;  but  erelong  his  spiritual  devotion  and 
enthusiasm  gained  the  ear  of  the  people,  and  their  eager- 
ness to  hear  was  only  surpassed  by  his  willingness  to 
instruct.  It  speaks  in  favor  of  the  tact  as  well  as  of 
the  philanthropy  of  the  man,  that  he  is  said  to  have 
rescued  two  hundred  of  the  fallen  women  of  Prague, 
and  provided  them  with  the  necessary  aids  to  a  virtu- 
ous life  in  a  reformatory  institution.  Milicz,  like  Con- 
rad, appears  not  to  have  been  an  innovator  in  doctrines. 
He  held,  to  be  sure,  some  rather  eccentric  views  about 
the  coming  of  Antichrist.  But  he  did  not  mean  to 
impugn  any  part  of  the  established  system  of  faith  or 
polity.  So  the  authorities  seem  to  have  concluded. 
For  while  his  enemies  caused  him  trouble,  and  he  had 
occasion  to  clear  himself  at  Rome,  and  again  at  Avignon, 
the  Pope  readily  acquitted  him  in  the  former  instance, 
and  there  are  indications  that  he  met  with  favorable 
consideration  in  the  latter  instance.  His  death  occurred 
in  1874,  at  Avignon,  whither  he  had  repaired  to  defend 
his  cause  before  the  papal  court. 

Matthias  of  Janow  was  rather  the  scholar  and  writer 
than  the  popular  orator.  Educational  advantages  of 
the  first  order  had  been  enjoyed  by  him.  Besides 
studying  for  an  interval  in  Prague,  he  spent  six  years  in 
Paris,  where  he  received  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 
From  1381  to  his  death  in  1393  he  held  a  position 
among  the  clergy  of  Prague.    The  writings  of  Matthias, 


JOHN  HUSS  AND   THE  HUSSITES.  431 

of  which  the  five  books  entitled  "  De  Regulis  Veteris  et 
Novi  Testamenti "  formed  the  principal  part,  indicate 
that  his  views  were  somewhat  more  radical  than  those 
of  his  predecessors,  and  came  nearer  to  a  veritable 
breach  with  the  Romish  system.  He  exalted  the  Scrip- 
tures far  above  human  traditions,  emphasized  the  im- 
mediate relation  of  the  believer  to  Christ,  complained  of 
the  legalism  which  had  substituted  a  long  list  of  com- 
mandments and  restrictions  for  the  simple  rule  of  life  in 
the  gospel,  opposed  the  tendency  to  separate  too  widely 
between  the  clergy  and  the  laity,  favored  the  practice 
of  frequent  communion  on  the  part  of  all  Christians, 
and  condemned  the  abusive  extreme  to  which  the  wor- 
ship of  images  was  commonly  carried.  The  preference 
of  Matthias  for  the  Bible,  and  his  desire  to  make  it  the 
foundation  of  his  teaching,  is  vividly  set  forth  in  the 
preface  to  his  chief  work.  "  In  these  writings  of  mine," 
he  says,  "I  have  throughout  made  most  use  of  the 
Bible,  and  but  little  of  the  sayings  of  the  doctors  ;  both 
because  the  Bible  occurs  to  me  promptl}^  and  abundantly 
for  writing  on  every  matter,  and  because  out  of  it  and 
through  its  most  divine  verities,  which  are  clear  and 
self-evident,  all  opinions  are  more  solidly  confirmed,  are 
founded  with  greater  acuteness,  and  are  meditated  on 
more  usefully  ;  and  because  it  is  that  which  I  have 
loved  from  my  youth  up,  and  have  named  my  beloved 
friend  and  spouse,  yea,  the  mother  of  beauteous  affec- 
tion and  knowledge  and  fear  and  holy  hope."^  His 
words  on  the  subject  of  human  commandments  are 
especially  noteworthy.  Having  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  Christ  and  His  apostles  laid  but  few  com- 
1  Quoted  by  Wratislaw. 


432  THE   MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

mands  upon  Christians,  he  adds :  *'  Whence  it  appears 
that  those  later  persons  have  acted  and  still  act  cruelly 
and  barbarously,  who  have  introduced  and  authorita- 
tively confirmed  their  numerous  inventions,  various 
doctrines,  and  rigid  commands  in  the  family  of  God  and 
the  Lord  Jesus,  binding  and  burdening  their  subjects 
overmuch.  .  .  .  Wherefore  I  have  concluded  in  my 
own  raind,  that,  for  the  purpose  of  renewing  peace  and 
union  in  the  general  body  of  Christians,  it  is  expedient 
to  root  out  all  that  plantation,  and  curtail  again  the 
word  upon  earth,  and  bring  back  the  Church  of  Christ 
Jesus  to  its  salutary  and  compendious  beginnings,  re- 
taining proportionately  few,  and  those  apostolic,  com- 
mandments." What  is  here  mentioned  as  a  matter  of 
desire  was  also  proclaimed  by  Matthias  as  a  matter  of 
expectation.  With  a  confidence  approaching  to  pro- 
phetic assurance  he  declared  :  "  I  believe  that  all  the 
aforesaid  works  of  men,  prescriptions,  and  ceremonies 
shall  be  destroyed  from  the  foundation,  and  God  alone 
will  be  exalted,  and  His  Word  will  abide  eternalh^ ;  and 
tbe  time  is  near  at  hand  when  those  prescriptions  will 
be   brought  to  naught." 

But  with  all  his  enlightened  sentiments  Matthias  was 
only  a  tentative  reformer.  He  professed  himself  read}' 
to  receive  correction  from  the  Church,  and  seems  not 
to  have  put  in  the  proviso  that  the  correction  should  be 
through  arguments  convincing  to  his  reason  and  con- 
science. So  we  have  the  record,  that,  in  answer  to  the 
demand  of  a  synod  in  1389,  he  formally  recanted  several 
of  the  opinions  which  he  had  advanced.^ 

Such  developments  as  we  have  sketched  prepared  the 

1  Wratislaw. 


JOHN  HUSS  AND   THE  HUSSITES.  433 

ground  for  Huss.  Not  only  this ;  they  exercised  un- 
doubtedly a  certain  influence  upon  his  own  mind. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  probably  no  erroneous  judgment 
which  assigns  them  the  second  rank  in  the  tuition  of 
the  Bohemian  reformer.  From  no  other  source  did 
Huss  draw  so  much  as  from  that  most  able  and  daring 
innovator  of  the  preceding  generation,  John  Wycliffe. 
This  is  proved  by  the  combined  evidence  of  his  own 
acknowledgments,  the  charges  of  his  accusers,  and  the 
contents  of  his  extant  writings.  No  doubt  his  enemies 
went  beyond  w^arrant  in  proclaiming  the  identity  of  his 
teachings  witli  those  of  Wycliffe.  The  Bohemian  was 
less  radical  than  the  English  agitator.  The  former, 
for  example,  retained  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation, 
which  was  so  sharply  condemned  by  the  latter.  He 
occupied  also  a  more  tolerant  attitude  than  Wycliffe 
toward  the  custom  of  venerating  the  Virgin  and  the 
saints.  But  Huss  made  no  secret  in  his  later  years  of 
his  appreciation  for  Wycliffe.  Once,  in  the  presence  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Prague,  he  is  said  to  have  exclaimed 
that  he  hoped  that  his  soul  might  be  with  that  of  the 
Oxford  teacher.  He  admired  him  first  as  a  philosopher, 
as  an  able  advocate  of  realism.  Later  he  admired  him 
as  a  reformer  in  practice  and  doctrine,  and  borrowed 
largel}^  from  his  writings.  "  I  am  attracted,"  wrote 
Huss,  "'  by  his  writings,  in  which  he  expends  every  ef- 
fort to  conduct  all  men  back  to  the  law  of  Christ,  and 
especially  the  clergy,  inviting  them  to  let  go  pomp  and 
dominion  of  the  world,  and  to  live,  like  the  apostles,  ac- 
cording to  the  law  of  Christ.  I  am  attracted  by  the 
love    he   has   for  the   law   of    Christ,   maintaining   its 

28 


^ 


434  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

truth  and  holding  that  in  no  point  can  it  prove  to  be 
false."  1 

As  early  as  his  student  days  Huss  had  an  opportunity 
to  look  into  the  works  of  Wycliffe.  The  liberality  of 
a  Bohemian  nobleman  by  the  name  of  Ranconis  had 
provided  a  fund  by  which  youth  of  his  country  might 
be  enabled  to  study  at  Paris  and  Oxford.  The  connec- 
tion thus  established  between  Bohemia  and  the  English 
university  was  greatly  strengthened  by  the  marriage  of 
Anne,  sister  of  the  Bohemian  King  Wenzel  (or  Wen- 
ceslas),  to  Richard  II.  The  prominence  of  Wycliffe  of 
course  drew  the  attention  of  the  foreign  students,  and 
they  were  eager  to  possess  themselves  of  his  writings, 
and  to  carry  them  back  to  their  own  country .^  We 
learn  from  Jerome  of  Prague,  who  was  one  of  those  that 
made  a  sojourn  at  Oxford,  that  he  himself  took  pains  to 
copy  and  to  carry  home  some  of  the  principal  of  Wyc- 
liffe's  writings. 

Such  was  the  preparation  made  for  Huss.  Viewed  on 
its  intellectual  or  dogmatic  side,  his  work  was  to  some 
extent  a  copy.  He  cannot  claim  the  same  distinction 
as  his  English  predecessor  in  respect  of  originality  or 
mental  daring.  He  was  more  eminent  as  a  confessor  or 
witness  than  as  a  thinker.  His  noblest  distinction  was 
his  moral  worth,  his  humble,  unswerving,  courageous 
fidelity  to  his  convictions.  His  greatest  natural  gift 
was  the  power  of  persuasive  address. 

John  Huss  was  born  in  1369  at  the  town  of  Husinetz 
in  the  southern  part  of  Bohemia.  His  parents  were 
poor,  and  in  the  earlier  stages  of  his  education  he  had 

1  Neander,  Kirchengeschichte,  ix. 

2  J.  Loserth,  Wiclif  and  Hus. 


JOHN  HUSS  AND   THE  HUSSITES.  435 

to  shift  for  himself,  much  after  the  manner  of  Luther  at 
a  later  date,  gaining  his  bread  by  singing  in  the  churches 
and  performing  menial  services.  In  1396  he  took  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts  at  the  University  of  Prague, 
and  two  years  afterwards  began  to  deliver  lectures  as  a 
public  teacher.  In  1401  he  was  made  Dean  of  the 
Faculty  of  Arts  for  the  ensuing  half-year.  In  1402  he 
was  Rector  for  the  like  term.  The  same  year  marks 
also  a  very  important  call  for  Huss,  his  nomination  to 
the  office  of  preacher  in  the  Bethlehem  Chapel,  a  foun- 
dation which  was  due  to  the  charity  and  enterprise  of 
two  laymen.  According  to  the  provisions  of  the  foun- 
dation, preaching  in  this  chapel  was  to  be  in  the  vernac- 
ular. This  was  welcome  to  the  zeal  of  Huss  for  popular 
instruction,  and  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  leaven  the 
minds  of  the  people  with  those  reform  principles  which 
now  were  beginning  to  burn  in  his  own  heart.  By 
no  other  means,  perhaps,  did  he  so  effectually  impress 
the  Bohemian  people  as  by  his  sermons  in  Bethlehem 
Chapel. 

It  was  first  in  1410  that  Huss  began  to  be  seriously 
molested  in  his  work.  Several  causes  combined  to  ren- 
der him  an  object  of  attack.  In  the  first  place,  in  his 
impartial  denunciations  of  iniquity  he  was  no  more  in- 
clined to  spare  the  clergy  than  the  people.  The  vices 
and  abuses  which  in  this  degenerate  age  were  scanda- 
lousl}^  prevalent  in  the  priesthood  he  assailed  with  scath- 
ing rebuke.  Naturally  his  censures  created  ill  will  in 
those  not  inclined  to  reform.  While  they  felt  the  smart 
of  cutting  reproofs,  they  feared  also  for  their  revenue, 
since  an  unscrupulous  dealing  with  relics,  and  simoni- 
acal  charges  for  spiritual  services,  were  among  the  things 


436        THE  MEDhEVAL   CHURCH. 

most  emphatically  reprobated  by  the  reformer.  In  the 
second  place,  the  attitude  of  Huss  toward  the  writings 
of  Wycliffe  gave  an  occasion  for  attack.  As  early  as 
1403,  these  writings  were  brought  under  censorship. 
Forty-five  articles  purporting  to  be  extracted  therefrom 
were  laid  before  an  assembly  of  the  university  magis- 
ters.  The  German  element,  which  was  predominant, 
was  forward  to  condemn  the  articles.  Among  the  Bo- 
hemians, on  the  other  hand,  there  were  several  promi- 
nent teachers  who  were  ready  to  defend  Wycliffe,  either 
on  the  ground  that  the  articles  did  not  truly  represent 
his  sentiments,  or  were  capable  of  being  understood  in 
an  orthodox  sense.  Huss  sympathized  with  this  latter 
verdict.  He  had  no  disposition  to  defend  Wycliffe  at 
every  point ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  was  strongly 
averse  to  the  wholesale  condemnation  of  the  articles 
which  was  carried  through  by  the  assembly.  Attention 
was  recalled  to  the  subject  at  intervals.  In  1408  there 
was  an  order  for  the  delivering  up  of  Wycliffe's  writ- 
ings. This  order  was  in  part  obeyed ;  its  execution  was 
not  vigorously  pressed.  Thus  far  the  position  of  Huss 
was  not  definitely  and  openly  compromised  by  his  rela- 
tion to  Wycliffe.  But  even  the  qualified  apology  which 
he  offered  for  the  English  reformer,  who  was  now  re- 
puted in  Romish  circles  to  have  been  the  great  here- 
siarch  of  his  time,  gave  his  enemies  a  most  effectual 
instrument  for  stirring  up  prejudice  against  him.  A 
third  cause  for  assailing  Huss  was  the  part  which  he 
took  in  overcoming  the  preponderance  of  the  Germans 
in  the  management  of  the  university.  In  three  out  of 
the  four  "  nations  "  which  were  represented  in  the  uni- 
versity, the  German  element  was  dominant.     This  gave 


JOHN  HUSS  AND   THE  HUSSITES.  437 

them  three  votes  to  one  of  the  Bohemians.  The  result 
was,  that  the  Bohemians  were  compelled  to  see  most  of 
the  offices  and  benefices  which  were  at  the  disposal  of 
the  university  in  the  hands  of  strangers.  Huss  relished 
this  as  little  as  others  of  his  nation,  and  approved  the 
effort  to  persuade  the  King  to  ordain  a  more  just  dis- 
tribution of  privileges.  As  the  appeal  came  at  a  time 
when  the  King  was  angry  with  the  Germans  for  oppos- 
ing his  policy  in  reference  to  the  rival  claimants  of  the 
papacy,  it  proved  effective.  A  royal  decree  was  issued 
in  January,  1409,  by  which  it  was  provided  that  the 
Bohemian  nation  should  have  three  votes  in  the  univer- 
sity. So  great  was  the  displeasure  of  the  Germans  at 
this  action  that  a  few  months  later  they  left  Prague  in 
large  numbers,  ^neas  Sylvius  says  that  five  thousand 
joined  in  the  exodus,  and  a  contemporary  Bohemian 
writer  carried  the  estimate  up  to  a  total  of  twenty  thou- 
sand. A  large  proportion  of  the  emigrants  settled  at 
Leipzig,  where  a  new  university  was  started.  As  the 
depletion  of  their  university  was  observed,  it  naturally 
occurred  to  some  that  too  high  a  price  had  been  paid  for 
Bohemian  ascendency.  The  result  accordingly  was  not 
altogether  favorable  to  Huss,  even  as  respects  the  opin- 
ion of  his  own  countrymen.  As  regards  the  Ger- 
mans, they  were  of  course  much  embittered  against  him. 
Even  before  this  they  cherished  toward  him  no  friendly 
feeling.  As  nominalists  they  were  ill  affected  from  the 
start  toward  Wycliffe,  as  being  a  distinguished  champion 
of  realism.  They  were  quite  ready  to  believe  him  to  be 
a  theological  heretic,  who  was  known  to  them  as  a  her- 
etic in  philosophy.  The  simple  fact  then  that  Huss  em- 
braced the  philosophical  realism  of  Wycliffe  was  a  source 


438  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

of  suspicion  in  their  minds  as  to  his  orthodoxy  in  theol- 
ogy. They  were  alert  to  interpret  an}^  show  of  appre- 
ciation for  Wycliffe  as  a  token  of  heresy.  Accordingly, 
as  they  went  from  Prague  the  sharpened  feeling  of  per- 
sonal hostility  which  they  carried  with  them  was  a  sure 
pledge  that  they  would  be  industrious  in  sowing  the 
seeds  of  ill  will  against  the  Bohemian  reformer. 

In  1410  Zbynek  (or  Zbinco),  Archbishop  of  Prague, 
opened  the  positive  attack  on  Huss.  He  had  been  an- 
gered by  the  utter  failure  of  his  attempt  in  the  pre- 
ceding year  to  champion  the  cause  of  Gregory  XIL, 
one  of  the  schismatic  Popes.  The  King  had  supported 
Alexander  V.,  the  nominee  of  the  Council  of  Pisa,  and 
in  this  measure  had  received  the  co-operation  of  Huss 
and  of  the  greater  part  of  the  clergy.  The  archbishop, 
after  witnessing  the  nullity  of  his  censures,  had  made 
a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  transferred  his  allegiance 
to  Alexander.  But  he  felt  his  humiliation,  and  eagerly 
sought  a  compensation.  In  pursuance  of  a  papal  bull, 
obtained  through  his  representations  some  months  be-  m 

fore,  the  archbishop  in  July,  1410,  ordered  the  burning 
of  such  copies  of  Wycliffe's  writings  as  had  been  col- 
lected, the  surrender  of  such  as  were  still  retained  by 
their  possessors,  and  desistance  from  further  preaching 
in  private  places,  on  pain  of  excommunication.  This 
last  requisition  was  designed  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
preaching  of  Huss  in  the  Bethlehem  Chapel.  Such  a 
demand  Huss  could  not  conscientiously  obey.  He  re- 
garded it  as  putting  unlawful  bonds  upon  the  Word  of 
God.  He  therefore  appealed  to  the  Pope,  and  went  on 
with  his  preaching,  at  the  same  time  uttering  a  protest 
against  the  burning  of  Wycliffe's  writings.     The  arch- 


JOHN  HUSS  AND   THE  HUSSITES.  439 

bishop  on  his  part  burned  the  proscribed  writings,  ex- 
communicated Huss,  and  opposed  his  petition  at  the 
papal  court.  Huss  was  cited  to  answer  before  that 
court,  and  on  his  failure  to  appear  incurred  the  papal 
excommunication.  As  Huss  was  supported  by  the 
King  and  a  large  part  of  the  people  and  the  clergy,  all 
these  censures,  as  well  as  the  interdict  which  the  arch- 
bishop imposed  upon  Prague,  effected  little.  At  length 
Zbynek  yielded  so  far  as  to  listen  to  a  plan  of  arbitra- 
tion and  to  remove  the  interdict.  His  death,  occurring 
at  this  time,  deprived  him  of  the  opportunity,  either  to 
consummate  peace,  or,  what  was  more  probably  in  his 
intention,  to  renew  hostilities. 

Huss  by  this  time  was  well  established  in  his  prin- 
ciple of  action.  As  he  had  refused,  at  the  command  of 
the  archbishop,  to  cease  from  preaching,  so  he  con- 
cluded to  sacrifice  the  dictates  of  his  conscience  to  no 
earthly  authority.  His  maxim  was  steady  adherence 
to  a  conviction  of  truth  or  duty  so  long  as  he  was  not 
proved  to  be  in  the  wrong  by  considerations  that  ap- 
peared consonant  with  the  divine  oracles.  No  arbitrary 
authority,  however  august  the  pretensions  with  which 
it  might  clothe  itself,  was  to  be  allowed  to  determine 
his  course.  Such  a  principle  under  the  circumstances 
was  a  sure  passport  to  martyrdom. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year  1411,  Huss  had  occasion 
to  declare  his  attitude  toward  papal  authority.  In  an- 
swer to  the  bull  of  John  XXI II.,  summoning  the  faith- 
ful to  support  a  crusade  against  Ladislaus,  King  of 
Naples,  who  sustained  the  rival  Pope,  Gregory  XII., 
the  traffic  in  indulgences  was  opened  in  Bohemia.  It 
being  understood  that  Huss  was  determined  to  oppose 


440  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

the  traffic,  he  was  summoned  before  the  archbishop 
(Albic)  and  the  papal  legates.  Being  asked  by  the 
latter  if  he  would  obey  the  apostolic  commands,  he 
rephed  very  promptly  in  the  affirmative.  But  as  the 
legates  expressed  their  satisfaction  at  his  ready  submis- 
sion, he  added  :  "  Understand  me,  gentlemen  !  I  term 
the  doctrine  of  Christ's  apostles  apostoKc  commands, 
and  so  far  as  the  commands  of  the  Pope  of  Rome  agree 
with  that  doctrine  and  those  commands  I  am  willing 
to  obey  them  gladly ;  but  when  I  see  the  contrary,  I 
shall  not  obey,  even  if  ye  place  before  me  fire  to  con- 
sume my  body."  This  declaration  Huss  followed  up, 
with  straightforward  resolution.  While  some  of  his 
former  allies,  notably  Stephen  Palecz  and  Stanislas, 
voted  for  neutrality,  Huss,  both  in  public  disputation 
and  in  his  pulpit  addresses,  denounced  the  purchase  of 
Pope  John's  indulgences  as  an  unworthy  patronizing  of 
an  unrighteous  and  a  bloody  enterprise.  A  significant 
token  of  his  temper  was  given  as  he  took  leave  of 
Palecz.  Plainly  perceiving  that  there  was  no  longer 
any  ground  of  fellowship  with  him,  he  said :  "  Palecz 
is  a  friend,  truth  is  a  friend ;  and  since  both  are  friends, 
the  blameless  course  is  to  give  the  preference  to  truth." 
Not  only  did  he  oppose  indulgences  as  a  means  of  help- 
ing on  the  unrighteous  crusade  of  the  Pope,  but,  like 
Luther  at  a  later  date,  he  greatly  qualified  the  value  of 
indulgences  in  general,  and  emphasized  the  view  that 
priestly  absolution  is  to  be  regarded  as  conditional,  it 
being  impossible  without  special  revelation  to  know 
whether  the  penitent  has  met  the  divine  requirements 
for  remission. 

Among  the  people  of  Prague  a  large  party  responded 


1 


JOHN  HUSS  AND   THE  HUSSITES.  441 

warmly  to  the  sentiments  of  Huss.  Sometimes  their 
zeal  was  not  kept  within  the  limits  of  discretion.  Huss 
himself  was  far  from  countenancing  wild-fire  and  vio- 
lence. But  the  agitation  was  too  great  to  be  controlled 
fully  by  his  word  or  example.  The  patrons  of  the 
Pope's  indulgences  were  lampooned.  A  procession 
was  gotten  up,  and  documents  bearing  the  semblance 
of  papal  bulls,  after  being  borne  through  the  streets, 
were  committed  to  the  flames.  In  several  instances 
preachers  who  attempted  to  recommend  the  indul- 
gences were  interrupted  with  a  cry  of  denunciation. 
Three  young  men,  among  those  who  testified  in  this 
lawless  way  against  the  iniquity,  were  arrested  and  hur- 
ried to  execution  by  the  magistrates,  —  an  exhibition  of 
cruelty  which  exasperated  far  more  than  it  intimidated. 
In  the  popular  view  their  death  was  a  martyrdom,  and 
Huss  himself  did  not  forbear  to  praise  their  honest  zeal 
and  devotion. 

These  developments  were  of  course  a  sure  guaranty 
against  any  favorable  decision  on  the  case  of  Huss, 
which  had  been  pending  at  the  papal  court.  Malignant 
representatives  of  his  enemies  in  Prague,  among  whom 
the  renegade  Michael  de  Causis  acted  a  conspicuous 
part,  were  on  hand  to  give  the  worst  account  of  the  do- 
ings of  the  reformer.  Accordingly,  in  July,  1412,  sen- 
tence was  given  for  the  public  proclamation  in  Prague 
of  tlie  excommunication  of  Huss,  together  with  the 
requirement  that  no  Christian  should  have  any  inter- 
course with  him,  and  that  the  place  of  his  abode,  if 
he  should  remain  obstinate  for  twenty  days,  should  be 
under  interdict.  Soon  after  came  the  more  violent  in- 
junctions  that  Huss  should  be  delivered  over  to  the 


V 


V 


442  THE  MEDIMVAL   CHURCH. 

archbishop,  or  other  judge,  to  be  condemned  and 
burned ;  that  the  Bethlehem  Chapel  should  be  levelled 
with  the  ground  ;  and  that  all  implicated  in  the  heresy  of 
Huss  should  recant  within  thirty  days  on  pain  of  sum- 
mons to  appear  before  the  court  of  Rome.  These  meas- 
ures caused  intense  excitement.  Between  the  bitter 
enemies  of  Huss  on  the  one  hand,  and  his  warm  admirers 
on  the  other,  violent  and  bloody  altercations  were  im- 
minent. Such  a  state  of  things  was  very  unwelcome  to 
Huss.  It  was  also  a  grief  to  him  that  the  people  should 
on  his  account  be  deprived  of  the  rites  of  religion,  as 
they  were  in  a  measure  through  the  partial  observance 
of  the  interdict.  \While,  therefore,  so  far  as  he  himself 
was  concerned,  he  was  willing  to  hold  his  ground,  he 
decided  for  the  sake  of  the  general  interest  to  retire  for 
a  season  from  Prague.  Refuge  and  entertainment  were 
readily  offered  him  by  friendly  nobles. 

During  his  absence  Huss  was  by  no  means  inactive- 
He  still  kept  his  hand  upon  affairs  in  Prague,  and  in- 
deed visited  the  city  at  intervals.  He  found  occasion 
to  preach  at  various  points  to  multitudes  who  were 
eager  to  hear  his  voice.  He  was  also  much  occupied 
with  his  pen.  His  most  elaborate  treatise,  I)e  Ecclesia^ 
was  produced  at  this  time.  In  this  work  Huss  brings 
out  a  conception  which  was  fundamental  to  his  depart- 
ure from  the  Romish  basis.  Like  Wycliffe  before  him, 
be  emphasizes  the  idea  that  the  Church  is  properly  the 
whole  company  of  the  elect.  Union  with  Christ  is  the 
essential  condition  of  membership.  From  this  point  of 
view  he  naturally  draws  the  conclusion  that  the  papal 
headship  cannot  be  admitted  except  in  a  very  quali- 
fied sense.     A  pope  may  not  be  even  a  member  of  the 


JOHN  HUSS  AND    THE  HUSSITES.  443 

Church,  in  which  case  it  would  be  preposterous  to  re- 
gard him  as  the  head.  Christ  alone  is  i)roperly  the 
head  of  the  Church.  That  the  Church  can  dispense 
with  a  pope  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  in  the  earlier 
ages  of  its  history  there  was  no  pope.  Up  to  the  time 
of  Constantine  the  Roman  bishop  was  simply  the  col- 
league of  the  other  bishops.  As  it  is  not  necessary  to 
have  a  pope,  so  obedience  may  be  refused  to  him  when 
he  does  not  rule  as  a  true  representative  of  Christ.  In- 
deed, the  Christian  is  bound  to  keep  his  gaze  fixed  upon 
the  example  and  the  precepts  of  Christ,  and  to  give  heed 
neither  to  pope  nor  prelate  when  their  injunctions  are 
counter  thereto.^  From  these  and  other  teachings  of 
Huss  it  is  quite  evident  that  he  entertained  the  formal 
principle  of  the  Lutheran  reformation.  A  compe- 
tent investigator  of  the  subject  remarks :  "  As  regards 
Huss's  doctrine  concerning  the  sources  of  Christian  be- 
lief and  concerning  its  exposition,  it  may  be  taken  as 
proved  that  Holy  Scripture  was  looked  upon  by  him 
as  the  alone  source  of  religious  truth,  despite  the  fact 
that  in  several  places  he  expresses  himself  in  another 
sense."  ^ 

The  opening  of  the  Council  of  Constance  in  the  latter  ^ 
part  of  the  year  1414  summoned  Huss  to  a  new  theatre 
of  testimony.  At  the  instance  of  the  Emperor  Sigis- 
mund,  who  had  been  largely  instrumental  in  calling  the 
council,  and  who  was  anxious  to  compose  the  disturb- 
ance in  Bohemia,  it  was  provided  that  Huss  should  be 
invited  to  appear  at  Constance  to  answer  for  himself. 
The  safe-conduct  of  the  Emperor  was  promised  in  case 

^  See  Neander,  Kirchengeschichte,  ix. 
2  Loserth,  Wiclif  and  Hus. 


444  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

he  should  accept  the  proposal ;  and  this,  it  would  ap- 
pear, was  understood  to  imply  a  free  departure  from 
the  council,  as  well  as  protection  on  the  way  thither. 
"  King  Sigismund's  intention,"  says  Wratislaw,  "  as 
signified  to  Huss  by  the  noblemen  commissioned  to 
communicate  with  him,  was  not  only  to  give  him  a  safe- 
conduct  on  his  way  to  Constance,  but  also  to  procure 
him  a  free  and  safe  public  hearing  in  the  council,  in 
such  manner,  indeed,  that,  if  he  were  unwilling  to  sub- 
mit to  the  judgment  of  the  council,  he  was  to  have  a 
free  and  safe  journey  back  to  his  own  country.  Such  is 
Huss's  own  statement  in  a  letter  written  after  June  5, 
1415,  and  also  in  an  earlier  but  undated  letter,  in  which 
he  expressed  the  wish  that  he  could  but  once  at  any 
rate  speak  with  the  King,  since  he  had  come  thither  at 
his  wish  and  under  his  promise  that  he  should  return 
safe  to  Bohemia."  1  The  language  of  the  safe-conduct 
itself  speaks  for  the  same  conclusion  :  "  Sigismund,  by 
the  grace  of  God  King  of  the  Romans,  etc.,  —  To  all 
princes,  ecclesiastical  and  lay,  and  all  our  other  sub- 
jects greeting.  Of  our  full  affection  we  recommend  to 
all  in  general,  and  to  each  individually,  the  honorable 
man,  Master  John  Huss,  the  bearer  of  these  presents, 
going  from  Bohemia  to  the  Council  of  Constance,  whom 
we  have  taken  under  our  protection  and  safeguard,  and 
under  that  of  the  Empire,  requesting  when  he  arrives 
among  you  that  you  will  receive  him  kindly  and  treat 
him  favorably.  .  .  .  Let  him  freely  and  securely  pass,  so- 

i  Chap,  vii,  Palacky,  who  concludes  that  the  safe-conduct,  while 
made  out  at  Speier,  October  18th,  did  not  reach  Huss  till  after  his 
arrival  in  Constance,  assigns  equal  scope  to  the  document.  (Geschichte 
von  Bohmen,  iii.  318.) 


JOHN  HUSS  AND   THE  HUSSITES.  445 

journ,  stop,  and  return."  ^  Notwithstanding  the  Emper- 
or's guaranty,  there  were  not  wanting  those  who  appre- 
hended peril  for  Huss,  and  warned  him  that  Constance 
would  prove  fatal  ground  to  him.  Huss  understood 
himself  that  there  was  some  occasion  for  the  warnin^f. 
From  his  farewell  letter  it  is  clear  that  he  was  by  no 
means  confident  of  escaping  imprisonment  and  death. 
But  he  was  resolved  to  brave  the  danger.  The  spirit 
of  a  confessor  dwelt  in  his  bosom,  and  no  prospect  was 
more  welcome  than  the  opportunity  to  justif}^  his  teach- 
ings before  the  supreme  tribunal  of  Christendom.^ 

Huss  reached  Constance  on  the  3d  of  November.  His 
most  virulent  enemies  from  Prague,  if  not  already  on 
the  ground,  were  forthwith  at  hand,  and  with  unwea- 
ried industry  were  endeavoring  to  poison  the  minds  of 
his  judges.  Their  machinations  were  all  too  success- 
ful. Before  the  end  of  November  Huss  received  a  fore- 
taste of  the  mercy  that  was  to  be  awarded.  The  prison 
closed  its  doors  upon  him  by  the  order  of  Pope  and 
cardinals.  In  a  foul  and  noisome  dungeon  he  learned 
the  worth  of  the  safe-conduct  which  had  bespoken  for 
him  kindly  treatment  in  every  place  of  his  sojourn. 
His  health  was  speedily  broken,  and  his  trial  would 
have  been  anticipated  by  his  death  had  he  not  been 
removed  to  more  wholesome  quarters. 

1  Quoted  from  Von  der  Hardt  by  E.  C.  Gillett,  Life  and  Times  of  John 
Huss,  vol.  i.  chap.  xiii. 

2  The  feelings  with  which  he  looked  forward  to  the  council  are  on  rec- 
ord in  a  letter  which  he  addressed  to  the  Emperor  Sigismund,  Sept.  1, 
1414  :  "  Sicut  nihil  in  occulto  docui,  sic  opto  non  in  secreto,  sed  in  pub- 
lica  audientia  audiri,  examinari,  prasdicare,  et  omnibus,  quotquot  arguere 
voluerint,  juvante  spiritu  doraini  respondere.  Nee  spero  verebor  con- 
fiteri  Christum  dominum.  et  pro  ejus  lege  verissima,  si  oportuerit,  mor- 
tem pati."     (Quoted  by  Palacky,  iii.  312.) 


446  THE  MEDL^VAL   CHURCH. 

How  was  this  violation  of  the  imperial  pledge  re- 
ceived by  Sigismund?  At  first  he  expressed,  and  no 
doubt  felt,  great  indignation.  But  his  heart  was  set 
upon  making  the  council  a  success  in  the  healing  of 
the  papal  schism.  He  found  that  he  could  not  defend 
Huss  and  maintain  the  terms  of  the  safe-conduct  with- 
out endangering  a  rupture  with  the  council.  He  con- 
cluded, therefore,  after  some  show  of  displeasure,  to 
leave  Huss  to  his  fate.  The  assembled  doctors  on  their 
part  offered  a  salve  to  his  conscience,  setting  forth  the 
doctrine  that  no  secular  power  can  obligate  itself  to 
keep  faith  with  a  heretic,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Church.^ 
In  this,  whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  special  appli- 
cation made,  the  council  no  doubt  stood  on  historical 
ground.  The  plain  import  of  the  legislation  of  Inno- 
cent HI.  was  that  no  secular  ruler  is  authorized  to  pro- 
tect an  heretical  subject,  or  to  stand  in  the  way  of  his 
being  visited   with  the  extreme  penalty.      It  follows 

1  The  decree  of  the  council  on  the  subject  of  safe-conducts  reads  as 
follows :  "  Praesens  sancta  synodus  ex  quovis  salvo  conductu  per  Im- 
peratorem,  Reges  et  alios  seculi  principes  haereticis,  vel  de  hasresi  dif- 
famatis,  putantes  eosdem  sic  a  suis  erroribus  revocare,  quocumque 
vinculo  se  adstrinxerint,  concesso,  nullum  fidei  catholics  vel  jurisdic- 
tion! ecclesiasticaB  prsejudicium  generari,  vel  impedimentura  praestari 
posse  seu  debere,  declarat,  quo  minus  dicto  salvo  conductu  non  obstante 
liceat  judici  competent!  et  ecclesiastico  de  hujusmodi  personarum  errori- 
bus inquirere,  et  alias  contra  eos  debite  procedere,  eosdenique  punire, 
quantum  justitia  suadebit,  si  suos  errores  revocare  pertinaciter  recusa- 
verint,  etiamsi  de  salvo  conductu  confisi  ad  locum  venerint  judicii,  alias 
non  venturi."  (Mansi,  Sess.  xix.  p.  799,  tom.  xxvii.)  A  decree  of  the 
council,  as  reported  by  Von  der  Hardt  (tom.  iv.  p.  522),  specifically  jus- 
tifies the  violation  of  the  safe-conduct  held  by  Huss  :  "  Sancta  synodus 
declarat,  dictum  invictissimum  principem  circa  praedictum  quondam 
Johannem  Huss,  non  obstante  memorato  salvo  conductu,  ex  juris  debito 
fecisse,  quod  licuit,  et  quod  decuit  Regiam  Magistatem." 


I 


JOHN  HUSS  AND   THE  HUSSITES.  447 

necessaril}^  on  this  basis,  that  any  pledge  of  security 
from  a  temporal  ruler  given  to  a  subject  accused  of 
heresy  must  be  conditional.  Faith  with  a  heretic  can 
in  no  case  be  inviolable,  at  least  in  no  case  in  which  the 
faith  is  not  pledged  by  the  supreme  spiritual  authority 
itself.i 

From  the  first,  it  was  manifest  that  the  council  was 
bent  upon  humbling  Huss,  if  not  upon  accomplishing 
his  destruction.  It  occupied  toward  him  the  position 
of  magisterial  authority,  requiring  him  to  acknowledge 
and  to  recant  the  errors  alleged  to  have  been  taught 
by  him.  At  his  trial  (on  the  5th,  7th,  and  8th  of 
June,  1415)  the  testimony  of  the  most  bitter  and  preju- 
diced witnesses  was  received,  but  no  opportunity  was 
provided  for  friendly  testimony.  Of  the  various  articles 
which  were  cited  as  being  taught  in  his  writings  and 
proving  his  heresy,  some  had  never  received  his  sanc- 
tion. Nevertheless  he  was  called  upon  to  abjure  the 
whole  list,  and  thereby  to  allow  the  inference  that  he  had 
taught  things  which  in  fact  he  had  never  entertained 
or  inculcated.  No  door  of  escape  was  left  open  except 
that  at  which  conscience  stood  guard,  and  Huss  was 
not  the  man  to  thrust  conscience  aside.  He  denied 
that  he  had  taught  some  of  the  alleged  errors ;  he  main- 
tained that  others  properly  understood  were  true  ;  he 
refused  to  make  the  indiscriminate  recantation  and 
submission    that   were   required.      Near   the   close   of 

1  Of  course  the  council  miglit  have  respected  the  safe-conduct,  if  it 
had  been  so  disposed.  While  the  theocratic  system  gave  it  the  option 
to  make  public  faitli  a  nullity,  it  did  not  require  it  to  do  this.  It  could 
have  shown  some  regard  for  plighted  faith,  and  spared  Sigisraund  the 
blush  which  is  said  to  have  mantled  his  cheek  as  Huss,  before  the  as 
sembled  dignitaries,  referred  to  the  safe-conduct.     (Palacky,  iii.  364.) 


448  THE  MEDIJBVAL   CHURCH. 

the  trial,  as  several  under  the  guise  of  friendly  advice 
urged  him  to  cast  himself  upon  the  mercy  of  the  coun- 
cil, Huss  responded :  "  Most  revered  fathers,  I  came  j. 
here  freely,  not  to  defend  aught  obstinately ;  but  if  in 
some  points  I  have  stated  things  incorrectly  or  defect- 
ively, I  wish  to  submit  to  the  instruction  of  the  coun- 
cil. But  I  pray  that  a  hearing  may  be  granted  me  to 
explain  my  meaning  as  to  the  articles  charged  against 
me,  and  to  cite  the  writings  of  holy  doctors;  and  if 
my  reasons  and  citations  be  not  strong  enough,  I  will 
humbly  submit  to  the  instruction  of  the  council." 
Later,  in  answer  to  a  private  solicitation  to  satisfy  the 
council  by  subscribing  a  formula  of  recantation,  Huss 
replied :  "  I  dare  not  submit  myself  to  the  council  ac- 
cording to  the  tenor  of  the  recantation  exhibited  to  me, 
both  because  I  must  condemn  many  truths,  which,  as 
I  heard  from  themselves,  they  designate  scandalous, 
and  because  I  must  incur  the  guilt  of  perjury  by  ab- 
juration, through  admitting  that  I  have  held  the  errors; 
whereby  I  should  greatly  scandalize  God's  people,  who 
have  heard  the  contrary  from  me  in  my  preaching.  If 
then  the  holy  Eleazar,  a  man  of  the  old  law,  an  account 
of  whom  is  in  the  Book  of  the  Maccabees,  would  not 
lyingly  admit  that  he  had  eaten  the  flesh  forbidden  by 
the  law,  lest  he  should  act  against  God  and  leave  an 
evil  example  to  posterity,  how  should  I,  a  priest  of  the 
new  law,  though  an  unworthy  one,  for  fear  of  a  punish- 
ment which  will  soon  be  over,  be  willing  to  transgress 
the  law  of  God  more  grievously  by  withdrawing  from 
the  truth,  by  committing  perjury,  by  scandalizing  my 
neighbors  ?  Indeed,  it  is  better  for  me  to  die,  than, 
avoiding   a   momentary  punishment,   to   fall   into   the 


JOHN  HUSS  AND   THE  HUSSITES.  449 

hands  of  the  Lord,  and  perhaps  afterwards  into  fire 
and  everlasting  reproach.  And  because  I  have  ap- 
pealed to  Christ  Jesus,  the  most  powerful  and  the  most 
righteous  of  judges,  committing  myself  and  my  cause 
to  Him,  I  therefore  await  His  decision  and  sentence, 
knowing  that  He  will  judge  every  man,  not  according 
to  false  or  erroneous  witness,  but  according  to  truth 
and  deserving."  ^  Such  was  the  position  which  Huss 
maintained  with  constant  resolution.  In  the  face 
of  persuasion  and  menace  alike,  he  revealed  not  the 
slightest  token  of  a  tendency  to  waver  in  his  chosen 
course. 

All  that  remained  now  was  the  final  sentence  and 
the  ordeal  of  martyrdom.  On  the  6th  of  July,  1415,  as 
the  council  was  assembled  in  state,  Huss  was  brought 
into  its  presence.  After  a  sermon  by  the  Bishop  of 
Lodi,  which  dwelt  on  the  duty  of  extirpating  heresy, 
articles  from  the  writings  of  Wycliffe  were  read  and 
condemned.  Then  accusations  against  Huss  and  articles 
from  his  writings  were  read.  No  opportunity  was  given 
him  to  reply  except  as  he  managed  at  intervals  to  inter- 
ject a  few  sentences.  Among  the  charges,  it  was  stated 
that  he  had  appealed  to  God,  to  the  disparagement  of 
ecclesiastical  authority.  To  this  Huss  replied  by  re- 
newing his  appeal  in  words  like  these  :  "  O  Lord  Jesus  ! 
Lo,  this  council  now  condemns  Thine  own  action  and 
law  as  an  error !  For,  when  Thou  wast  oppressed  by 
Thine  enemies.  Thou  didst  commit  Thy  cause  to  Thy 
Father,  the  most  righteous  Judge,  giving  herein  an  ex- 
ample to  us  poor  sinners,  when  aggrieved  in  any  way, 
to  have  recourse  to  Thee,  the  most  righteous  Judge, 

1  Quoted  by  Wratislaw. 
29 


450  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

humbly  asking  Thine  aid."  As  sentence  was  pro- 
nounced against  him,  Huss  fell  upon  his  knees  and 
prayed,  saying :  "  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  pardon  all  my 
enemies,  I  pray  Thee,  for  the  sake  of  Thy  great  mercy. 
Thou  knowestthat  they  have  falsely  accused  me,  brought 
forward  false  witnesses,  and  concocted  false  articles 
against  me.  Pardon  them  for  the  sake  of  Thine  in- 
finite mercy." 

Being  vested  with  the  priestly  garments  prior  to  the 
ceremony  of  degradation,  he  was  exhorted  by  the 
bishops  having  the  matter  in  charge  to  abjure.  Huss 
replied,  as  he  turned  to  the  assembly,  ''  See !  these 
bishops  would  have  me  abjure.  I  fear  to  do  so  lest 
I  should  be  a  liar  in  the  sight  of  God ;  lest  I  should 
offend  my  conscience  and  God's  truth,  never  having 
held  the  articles  which  they  falsely  allege  against  me, 
but  rather  having  taught,  written,  and  preached  the 
contrary ;  and  also  lest  I  should  offend  and  scandalize 
the  great  multitude  to  whom  I  have  preached,  and  like- 
wise others  who  are  faithfully  preaching  the  Word  of 
God." 

The  priestly  vestments  were  then  removed,  and  the 
eucharistic  chalice  was  taken  from  his  hand  with  the 
exclamation,  ^'  We  take  from  thee,  accursed  Judas, 
the  cup  of  salvation."  But  Huss  replied,  "  I  trust  in  v 
God,  my  Almighty  Father,  that  He  will  not  take  from 
me  the  cup  of  His  salvation,  and  I  have  a  steadfast  hope 
that  I  shall  yet  to-day  drink  it  in  His  kingdom."  As 
the  concluding  mockery  was  taking  place,  and  a  paper 
crown  disfigured  with  the  pictures  of  fiends  was  put 
upon  his  head,  the  bishops  said,  "  Now  we  give  over 
thy  soul  to  the  devil."     "But  I,"  said  Huss,  looking 


JOHN  BUSS  AND   THE   HUSSITES.  451 

heavenward,  "  commend  to  Thee,  O  Jesus  Christ,  the 
soul  which  Thou  hast  redeemed." 

Like  words  were  repeated  by  Huss  while  he  was 
being  led  to  the  stake.  As  the  pile  of  mingled  wood 
and  straw  which  encompassed  his  body  was  kindled,  he 
commenced  to  chant  with  a  loud  voice,  "  O  Christ,  Son 
of  the  living  God  !  have  mercy  upon  me  !  "  The  smoke 
and  flame  which  the  wind  drove  into  his  face  soon 
quenched  his  voice,  but  it  could  be  seen  from  the 
motion  of  his  lips  that  as  long  as  life  remained  he  was 
continuing  his  sublime  devotions.  Thus  died  one  of 
the  world's  heroes,  a  man  than  whom  a  more  honest  or 
devoted  was  probably  never  sent  to  heaven  by  the 
pathway  of  Are. 

The  voice  of  the  accuser  had  triumphed.  The  coun- 
cil had  vindicated  its  authority  against  the  man  who 
dared  to  appeal  to  Christ  and  to  conscience,  instead 
of  humbly  submitting  to  its  arbitrary  mandate.  But 
neither  accuser  nor  council,  nor  both  combined,  could 
annul  the  verdict  which  was  written  in  the  hearts  of 
thousands  of  Bohemians.  They  knew  the  worth  of 
their  countryman.  It  is  no  marvel  that  the  flame  of  his 
martyrdom  became  a  torch  which  kindled  all  Bohemia 
into  a  conflagration. 

The  council  which  had  no  compassion  upon  Huss 
would  not  be  likely  to  spare  his  disciple,  Jerome  of 
Prague  ;  for  Jerome  was  a  man  who  gave  more  occa- 
sion of  provocation  than  Huss.  He  was  more  impetu- 
ous and  more  venturesome,  superior  in  genius  but  less 
in  constancy.  Of  singularly  restless  and  inquiring 
mind,  he  kept  up  a  continual  journeying.  We  find 
him  at  Oxford,  at  Paris,  at  Cologne,  at  Heidelberg,  at 


y 


452  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

Vienna,  in  Moravia,  in  Poland,  and  in  Palestine. 
Wherever  he  went,  he  expressed  himself  with  freedom 
and  boldness.  Judging  from  the  stir  which  he  made 
at  different  universities,  he  must  have  been  a  very  keen 
disputant.  That  he  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  elo- 
quence we  know  from  other  evidence. 

Urged  probably  by  a  desire  to  assist  Huss,  Jerome 
came  to  Constance  in  the  early  part  of  April,  1415. 
He  was  apprised  at  once  by  his  friends  that  his  coming 
was  of  no  avail,  and  that  he  must  depart  at  once  if  he 
valued  his  safety.  This  advice  he  was  soon  constrained 
to  follow.  Having  remained  in  a  neighboring  town  for 
a  few  days,  he  began  to  pursue  his  journey  toward  Bo- 
hemia. But  he  failed  to  escape.  When  within  a  day's 
journey  of  the  border,  he  was  arrested  and  sent  to 
Constance.  There  chains  and  imprisonment  proved  to 
be  more  effectual  arguments  with  him  than  they  had 
been  with  his  inflexible  master.  After  several  months 
of  suffering,  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  renounce  the 
doctrines  of  Wycliffe  and  Huss,  and  to  acknowledge  the 
justice  of  the  condemnation  which  befell  the  latter. 

But  recantation  did  not  mean  acquittal  for  Jerome. 
One  party  among  the  members  of  the  council  was  in- 
deed disposed  to  advocate  his  release  from  prison.  The 
opposing  party,  however,  carried  the  day,  and  Jerome 
was  brought  again  to  trial.  At  a  public  hearing  which 
was  granted  him  on  the  23d  and  the  26th  of  May, 
1416,  he  responded  to  the  numerous  articles  that  were 
produced  against  him.  It  was  a  long  effort,  and  the 
tax  was  all  the  more  severe  as  he  was  greatly  worn  by 
the  hardships  of  his  imprisonment.  Nevertheless,  at 
the  conclusion,  Jerome  was  ready  to  improve  the  op- 


JOHN  HUSS  AND   THE  HUSSITES.  453 

portunity  which  was  given  him  to  speak  more  at  length. 
He  was  master  of  the  situation,  for  he  had  become  mas- 
ter of  himself.  With  a  spirit  which  rose  above  all  consid- 
eration of  temporal  consequences,  he  gave  the  message 
of  his  convictions  to  his  astonished  listeners,  ending  by 
repairing  the  wrong  which  he  had  done  to  Huss,  de- 
claring that  no  sin  beside  lay  so  heavy  upon  his  con- 
science as  that  which  he  had  committed  in  assenting  to 
the  condemnation  of  that  holy  man. 

The  impression  made  by  Jerome's  eloquence  may  be 
judged  from  the  report  of  the  papal  secretary,  Poggio 
Bracciolini,  a  writer  who  had  more  than  common  op- 
portunities to  hear  the  most  distinguished  orators  of  his 
time.  ''  I  own,"  he  says,  ''  that  I  never  saw  any  one 
who,  in  pleading  a  cause,  especially  one  for  life  and 
death,  approached  more  nearly  to  the  eloquence  of  the 
ancients,  whom  we  admire  so  much.  It  was  marvellous 
to  observe  with  what  words,  what  eloquence,  what  ar- 
guments, what  expression  of  countenance,  what  vis- 
age, what  confidence,  he  answered  his  adversaries,  and 
finally  concluded  the  pleading  of  his  cause.  .  .  .  Many 
he  smote  with  jests,  many  with  invectives ;  many  he 
frequently  compelled  to  laugh  in  what  was  no  laughing 
matter,  by  jeering  at  the  reproaches  made  to  him  by  his 
adversaries.  .  .  .  This,  however,  was  a  token  of  the 
greatest  intellectual  power,  that,  when  his  discourse  was 
frequently  interrupted,  and  he  was  assailed  with  vari- 
ous outcries  by  some  who  carped  at  his  sentiments,  not 
one  of  them  did  he  leave  unscathed,  and,  chastising  them 
all  alike,  compelled  them  either  to  blush  or  to  hold  their 
peace.  .  .  .  His  voice  was  sweet,  clear,  and  sonorous, 
accompanied  with  a  certain  dignified  oratorical  gesticu- 


454  THE  MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

lation,  either  to  express  indignation,  or  to  move  com- 
passion, which  however  he  neither  asked  for  nor  wished 
to  obtain.  He  stood  fearless  and  dauntless,  not  merely 
despising  but  even  desiring  death,  so  that  you  would 
have  said  he  was  another  Cato." 

In  approving  Huss,  Jerome  had  unmistakably  con- 
demned the  council.  His  own  condemnation  followed 
as  a  matter  of  course.  On  the  30tli  of  May  he  was  sent 
upon  the  fiery  pathway  which  Huss  had  trod  before 
him  ]  and  he  pursued  it  with  no  less  of  triumph  over 
the  fear  of  death.  On  the  way  to  the  stake  he  chanted 
with  a  loud  voice  the  Catholic  creed  and  various  hymns. 
As  the  wood  and  straw  were  being  placed  about  him,  he 
sang  through  the  Easter  hj-mn.  Salve,  festa  dies  !  Ob- 
serving that  the  executioners  were  about  to  light  the 
fire  behind  his  back,  he  said  to  them,  "  Come  here  and 
light  the  fire  in  my  sight ;  if  I  had  feared  it,  I  should 
never  have  come  to  this  place."  As  the  flames  sprang 
up,  he  committed  his  soul  to  God,  and  sent  out  his  last 
breath  in  fervent  prayer. 

The  manner  in  which  Huss  and  Jerome  met  their 
fate  is  certified  by  no  partisan  testimon3\  Poggio  says : 
"  Jerome  suffered  the  tortures  of  fire  with  a  calmness 
greater  than  that  with  which  Socrates  drank  the  hem- 
lock." jEneas  Sylvius  says  of  both  Huss  and  Jerome  : 
"  They  braved  a  violent  death  Avith  constant  mind,  and 
proceeded  to  the  flames  as  though  they  had  been  invited 
to  a  banquet,  uttering  no  word  which  might  betoken  sor- 
row. No  philosopher  is  recorded  to  have  met  death  with 
fortitude  equal  to  that  with  which  they  endured  burning." 

How  happened  it  that  a  council  which  was  designed 
to  reform  the  Church  had  so  little  sympathy  for  men 


JOHN  HUSS  AND    THE  HUSSITES.  455 

whose  whole  energy  was  given  to  the  work  of  reforma- 
tion ?  It  may  be  repHed,  that  a  large  proportion  of  those 
who  had  a  place  in  the  council  were  corruj^t  ecclesias- 
tics, who  desired  nothing  less  than  the  abrogation  of  cur- 
rent abuses.  This  is  no  doubt  true.  But  there  were 
earnest  men  in  the  council,  who  bemoaned  the  condition 
of  the  Church,  and  were  inwardly  pledged  to  put  forth 
every  effort  for  its  correction.  And  men  of  this  very 
class,  no  less  than  others,  urged  on  the  prosecution 
against  the  Bohemian  leaders.  John  Gerson,  before  the 
assembling  of  the  council,  was  among  the  most  emphatic 
in  his  denunciations  of  Huss.  Peter  d'Ailly  took  a 
conspicuous  part  in  the  trial  of  Huss.  Gerson  vigor- 
ously supported  the  proposition  for  renewing  the  pro- 
cess against  Jerome  after  his  recantation.  How  is  this 
to  be  explained?  The  answer  is  twofold.  In  the  first 
place,  they  approached  the  case  of  the  Bohemian  re- 
formers through  the  thick  air  of  prejudice.  The  dis- 
tinguished theologians  from  Paris  had  their  grudge,  as 
advocates  of  the  nominalistic  philosophy.  And  this 
bias  of  theirs  was  reinforced  by  the  representations  of 
the  Germans,  who  brooded  over  the  wrongs  which  they 
thought  had  been  done  to  them  in  their  relations  to  the 
University  of  Prague,  and  also  by  the  English  theolo- 
gians, who  regarded  Huss  and  Jerome  as  allies  of  the 
abhorred  sect  of  Wycliffe.  In  the  second  place,  they 
disliked  the  method  of  the  reform  which  was  under- 
taken in  Bohemia.  In  their  view,  the  aristocratic  was 
the  true  method.  Reform  should  be  initiated  by  the 
highest  authorities  in  the  Church,  and  be  carried  for- 
ward in  accordance  with  their  prescriptions  and  under 
their  leadership.     The   method  of  Huss,  on  the  other 


456  THE  MEDIJSVAL   CHURCH. 

hand,  was  popular  and  democratic.  He  discussed  the 
needs  of  the  Church  in  the  presence  of  the  people.  He 
proceeded  on  the  supposition  that  a  strong  pressure 
upon  the  corrupt  ecclesiastics  was  necessary,  both  from 
people  and  princes,  in  order  to  dispose  them  to  any  real 
correction  of  the  existing  evils.  This  from  the  aristo- 
cratic and  hierarchical  standpoint  seemed  revolutionary, 
a  method  perilous  to  the  fabric  of  the  Church.  Hence 
the  intolerant  feeling  with  which  Huss  and  his  asso- 
ciates were  regarded.^ 

The  Bohemian  people  repaid  those  who  had  sacri- 
ficed their  leaders  as  might  have  been  expected.  While 
there  was  a  party  which  acknowledged  the  authority  of 
the  council,  it  was  not  strong  enough  to  deal  with  the 
thoroughly  aroused  and  indignant  friends  of  the  mar- 
tyrs. The  council  found  its  authorit}^  despised  and  its 
measures  treated  as  complete  nullities.  It  cited  before 
its  judgment  seat  the  nobles  who  had  complained  in  bit^ 
ter  terms  of  the  burning  of  Huss  and  the  cruel  treat- 
ment of  Jerome.  Not  one  of  the  nobles  responded  to 
the  summons.  It  proscribed  the  practice  of  giving  the 
cup  to  the  laity.  The  Hussites  maintained  the  practice 
with  growing  zeal  and  tenacity.  This  was  a  departure 
from  Romish  usage  for  which  Huss  was  not  primarily 
responsible.  It  seems  to  have  been  first  advocated 
while  he  was  in  prison  at  Constance,  its  leading  cham- 
pion being  Jacobus  of  Misa,  commonly  called  Jacobel- 
lus.  But  Huss,  as  the  matter  was  brought  to  his  notice, 
confessed  that  the  practice  accorded  with  Scripture  and 
early  usage,  and  gave  it  his  sanction. 

1  Compare  Wratislaw,  chap.  ix. 


JOHN  HUSS  AND    THE  HUSSITES,  457 

In  addressing  a  people  thus  inflamed  with  a  sense  of 
injury,  prudence  would  seem  to  have  dictiited  a  tone  of 
moderation,  not  to  say  conciliation.  But  in  fact  the 
very  opposite  was  employed.  The  council  issued  a  de- 
cree in  1418,  the  plain  intent  of  which  was  an  uncom- 
promising war  against  the  memory  of  Huss,  and  against 
all  who  were  in  any  wise  favorable  to  his  cause.  The 
newly  elected  Pope  added  a  bull  sanctioning  and  com- 
manding every  means  and  method  of  inquisitorial  rigor 
and  tyranny  which  might  be  effectual  for  the  uprooting 
of  heresy. 

Such  measures  simply  poured  oil  upon  the  fire.  The 
Hussites  began  to  combine.  A  large  company  of  the 
more  zealous,  that  they  might  enjoy  the  eucharist  ac- 
cording to  the  prescriptions  of  the  New  Testament,  left 
Prague  and  encamped  upon  a  mountain  which  they  \ 
called  Tabor.  This  became  thenceforth  a  gathering 
point,  and  served  as  a  stronghold  against  enemies. 

As  the  movement  went  on,  it  became  apparent  that 
there  were  divergent  parties  among  the  Hussites.  The 
more  radical  wing  were  not  content  to  stop  short  of  a 
thorough  renunciation  of  Romanism.  They  wished  for 
a  simple  style  of  worship,  claimed  that  tlie  Bible  is  the 
one  supreme  authority,  and  discountenanced  prayers  for 
the  dead,  invocation  of  saints,  and  veneration  of  relics. 
As  this  party  was  in  the  ascendant  at  the  encampment 
on  Mount  Tabor,  they  came  to  be  called  Taborites. 
That  there  was  a  genuine  evangelical  basis  underneath 
their  creed  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  the  Bohe- 
mian and  Moravian  Brethren  of  later  times  were  largely 
their  descendants.  At  the  same  time,  it  cannot  be  de- 
nied that  in  the  first  stage  of  their  history  their  zeal  was 


J 


458  TEE  MEDIJEVAL   CHURCH. 

frequently  heightened  into  fanaticism  and  iconoclastic 
fury.  Fanciful  views,  especially  on  the  interpretation 
of  prophecy,  had  for  a  time  much  currency  among  them. 
This  in  the  long  run  was  of  course  an  element  of  weak- 
ness. But  at  the  first  their  highly  wrought  enthusiasm 
added  to  the  warlike  energy  which  made  them  a  terror 
to  their  foes. 

The  more  conservative  wing  of  the  Hussites,  as  laying 
the  principal  stress  upon  the  cup  in  the  eucharist,  were 
called  Calixtines  or  Utraquists.  Their  position  is  well 
expressed  by  the  four  articles  which  they  early  set  forth 
as  a  basis  of  treating  with  Sigismund ;  (1)  the  full 
and  unrestricted  freedom  of  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
throughout  Bohemia  ;  (2)  the  freedom  of  the  commun- 
ion of  the  cup  ;  (3)  the  exclusion  of  the  clergy  from 
large  temporal  possessions  or  civil  authority  ;  (4)  the 
strict  repression  and  punishment  of  gross  public  sins, 
whether  in  clergy  or  laity. 

In  1419,  the  death  of  the  weak  and  worthless  King 
Wenzel  left  the  Emperor  Sigismund  heir  to  the  Bohe- 
mian crown.  Naturally,  the  Hussites  were  not  favor- 
ably disposed  toward  the  prince  who  had  sacrificed 
their  leader  in  the  face  of  his  plighted  faith.  The 
Taborites  had  no  disposition  to  acknowledge  him  as 
their  king,  and  the  more  conservative  Calixtines,  after 
a  season  of  negotiation,  concluded  to  repudiate  his 
claim,  since  it  became  apparent  that  religious  libert}' 
could  hope  for  nothing  at  his  hands.  Sigismund  in 
fact  was  fully  bent  upon  a  policy  of  repression.  Aided 
by  the  decrees  of  the  Pope,  who  summoned  the  faithful 
to  join  in  a  crusade  against  the  heretics  of  Bohemia,  he 
marched  into  the  country  with  a  large  army.     But  the 


JOHN  IIUSS  AND    THE  HUSSITES.  459 

Hussites  were  equal  to  the  encounter.  Under  the 
lead  of  Ziska,  the  ablest  general  of  the  age,  and  of 
those  who  were  trained  under  his  tuition,  they  were 
completely  victorious  over  the  imperial  forces.  Inva- 
sion after  invasion  ended  in  defeat  for  the  Emperor  and 
his  allies.  At  length,  after  the  country  had  suffered 
fearfully  from  the  ravages  and  atrocities  of  both  parties, 
it  was  concluded  that  the  Hussites  were  not  to  be  over- 
come by  force.  Resort  was  therefore  made  to  diplom- 
acy. The  Hussites  were  invited  to  negotiate  with  the 
Council  of  Basle  near  the  beginning  of  its  sessions. 
The  result  was  a  compact  in  which  there  was  a  par- 
tial concession  to  the  demands  of  the  Calixtines.  This 
w^ing  of  the  Hussites  was  accordingly  reconciled  to 
the  Church,  and  inasmuch  as  they  joined  arms  against 
the  opposing  Taborites,  the  strength  of  the  latter  was 
broken.  Thereafter  the  military  ardor  by  which  they 
had  been  so  remarkably  distinguished  subsided.  The 
surviving  remnant  took  on  the  character  of  a  peaceful 
brotherhood.  As  for  the  Calixtines,  they  enjoyed  very 
unequal  advantages  from  their  compact  at  different 
times.  However,  they  maintained  themselves  until 
new  and  wider  issues  wei-e  brought  to  their  attention 
in  connection  with  the  great  Reformation  of  the  six- 
teenth century. 

Such  is  the  astonishing  record  of  the  Bohemian  move- 
ment. A  part  of  a  small  nation  withstood  the  assaults 
of  Church  and  Empire,  compelled  the  verdict  that  they 
could  not  be  subdued  by  force,  and  in  the  public  settle- 
ment which  was  effected  obtained  terms  of  compromise 
from  a  professedly  ecumenical  and  infallible  council. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  MYSTICS. 

THE  culmination  of  scholasticism  was  followed  by 
an  extraordinary  outburst  of  mysticism.  From 
the  first  years  of  the  fourteenth  century  the  ferment  of 
mystical  speculation  and  mystical  devotion  spread  far 
and  wide  through  Germany.  Gifted  teachers  announced 
the  most  daring  tenets  respecting  the  union  of  the  soul 
with  God.  A  multitude  of  earnest  men  and  women, 
who  had  little  faculty  for  speculating  on  such  high 
themes,  had  an  ardent  zeal  to  possess  the  truth  through 
the  medium  of  experience.  The  cloisters  of  the  women 
in  particular,  notably  those  connected  with  the  Domin- 
ican order,  supplied  many  instances  of  a  mystical  piety 
which  expressed  itself  in  visions  and  ecstatic  exercises. 
Both  in  the  speculative  teaching  and  in  the  emotional 
excitement  an  element  of  unhealthy  exaggeration  may 
be  discerned.  Nevertheless,  in  both  phases  of  the 
movement  good  was  contained.  The  deeper  require- 
ments of  piety,  its  great  inward  demands,  were  duly 
emphasized  in  opposition  to  mere  formality  and  ritual- 
ism. In  the  enlarged  scope  given  to  the  subjective, 
there  was  naturally  a  tendency  to  limit  the  notion  of 
hierarchical  authority,  and  a  point  of  connection  with 
the  Protestant  Reformation  was  supplied. 


THE  MYSTICS.  461 

Among  the  mystics  of  this  era  Eckhart  was  no  doubt 
the  greatest  master  of  speculative  thought.  He  ap- 
pears almost  wholly  in  this  character.  Only  a  meaore 
outline  of  his  life  is  preserved.  He  was  born  about 
1260.  Probably  before  the  age  of  manhood  he  entered 
the  Dominican  order.  His  education  was  perfected  at 
Cologne  and  Paris.  At  the  latter  place  he  took  the 
degree  of  Master.  For  eight  years  (1303-1311)  he  held 
office  in  his  order  as  provincial  prior  of  Saxony.  He 
then  lectured  for  a  year  at  Paris.  Later  he  appears  as 
teacher  and  preacher  in  Strasburg,  as  prior  in  Frank- 
furt, and  as  teacher  in  Cologne.  In  1325  Eckhart's 
orthodoxy  was  called  in  question.  He  was  suspected 
of  holding  tenets  like  those  of  the  Brethren  of  the  Free 
Spirit,  who  were  then  being  sought  out  and  brought  to 
punishment.  At  this  time  he  was  acquitted ;  but  the 
process  was  renewed  against  him  two  years  later,  at  the 
instance  of  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne.  An  appeal  to 
the  Pope  by  the  accused  was  answered  with  a  condem- 
nation of  twenty-eight  of  his  sentences.  This  answer 
came  in  1329,  a  year  or  two  after  the  death  of  Eckhart. 
The  papal  document  assumes  that  he  had  recanted  his 
errors  before  his  death.  But  there  is  no  record  of  a  re- 
cantation, and  the  Pope's  statement  was  probably  based 
upon  the  general  declaration  which  Eckhart  is  known 
to  have  made,  that  he  would  readily  recant  anything 
which  might  be  shown  to  be  unsound. ^ 

In  his  speculative  system  Eckhart  cannot  be  said  to 
have  adhered  closely  to  any  one  philosophic  master. 
He  drew  from  Neo-Platonism,  especially  as  found  in  the 
works  of  the  pseudo  Dionysius,  from  Augustine  and 

1  Wilhelm  Preger,  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Mystik  im  Mittelalter. 


462         THE  MEDLEVAL   CHURCH. 

from  Aquinas.  But  he  was  a  man  of  original  force, 
and  gave  his  own  impress  to  the  materials  with  which 
he  dealt. 

He  starts  with  the  conception  of  absolute  being,  un- 
differentiated, but  containing  in  itself  potentially  all 
distinctions.  The  more  immediate  products  of  the  dif- 
ferentiation are  the  Persons  of  the  Trinity.  Beyond 
the  circle  of  the  Trinity,  by  a  process  of  emanation,  the 
different  orders  of  creatures  are  produced.  This  ema- 
nation is  not  conceived  as  taking  place  by  a  blind 
necessity,  apart  from  the  will  of  Deity ;  still  it  is  a 
veritable  emanation.  Things  have  real  existence  only 
as  the  being  of  God  is  in  them. 

In  this  general  view  of  the  relation  of  God  to  the 
creature  there  is  manifestly  a  very  close  affiliation 
with  pantheism.  Eckhart,  moreover,  indulged  various 
specific  statements  which  might  give  occasion  to  the 
charge  of  pantheistic  teaching.  We  find  in  his  writings 
such  sentences  as  these :  "  Before  the  creatures  were, 
God  was  not  God."  ''  All  things  are  God  Himself." 
''  The  ground  of  God  and  the  ground  of  the  soul  are 
one  essence."  "  The  Father  cannot  understand  Him- 
self without  me."  "  The  eye  with  which  I  see  God  is 
the  eye  with  which  He  sees  me."  ''  The  soul  should  so 
renounce  its  own  individual  being,  that  nothing  but 
God  remains."  The  soul  in  its  ground  —  so  he  taught 
in  his  later  years  —  is  uncreated;  and  the  Son  of  God 
is  brought  forth  therein  in  the  same  way  in  which  He 
was  brought  forth  in  eternity.  These  are  strong  state- 
ments, and  their  pantheistic  sense  seems  sufficiently 
unequivocal.  But  some  account  must  be  taken  of  Eck- 
hart's  fondness  for  paradox.     As  offsetting  features,  we 


THE  MYSTICS.  463 

may  mention  his  strong  emphasis  upon  man's  free  will, 
and  his  evident  intention  to  teach  the  permanence  of 
man's  personal  subsistence. 

It  should  be  noticed,  in  praise  of  Eckhart,  that,  while 
he  luxuriated  in  these  theosophic  flights,  he  did  not 
forget  the  demands  of  practical  Christian  activity.  An 
inert  quietism  was  no  part  of  his  theory.  Indeed,  he 
was  so  far  from  that  type  of  mysticism  that  he  gave  a 
theoretical  preference  to  the  active  over  the  contem- 
plative life. 

Among  those  who,  in  a  general  way,  may  be  called 
followers  of  Eckhart,  a  foremost  place  belongs  to  John 
Tauler.  He  was  born  at  Strasburg  in  1290.  About 
the  age  of  eighteen  he  entered  the  Dominican  cloister 
in  his  native  city.  Soon  afterwards  he  began  to  study 
at  Paris.  On  his  return  to  Strasburg,  as  is  supposed, 
he  met  Eckhart.  Under  his  teaching  and  also  that 
of  the  less  speculative  mystic,  Nicolas  of  Strasburg, 
his  bent  to  the  mystical  theology  and  piety  was  con- 
firmed. 

In  his  chosen  path  Tauler  found  many  congenial 
spirits  among  the  so  called  "  Friends  of  God."  This 
was  not  a  sect,  but  a  kind  of  pietistic  association  whose 
growth  was  favored  by  the  exigencies  of  the  times. 
The  quarrel  which  was  started  by  the  interference  of 
the  Papacy  with  the  Empire  in  the  time  of  Louis  of 
Bavaria  involved  prolonged  miseries  for  Germany.  Re- 
ligious services  were  largely  interrupted  by  interdicts. 
The  days  were  exceedingly  dark.  For  mutual  encour- 
agement, those  most  interested  in  a  spiritual  type  of 
piety  entered  into  an  association  bearing  the  above 
name.     The  society  spread   widely  in  Germany.      Its 


464  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

adherents  were  especially  numerous  in  the  region  of 
the  Upper  Rhine. ^ 

In  the  controversies  between  the  civil  power  and  the 
papacy,  Tauler  took  sides  with  the  former.  Counting 
it  an  inhuman  robbery  to  deprive  the  poor  people  of 
spiritual  consolations,  especially  during  the  fearful  or- 
deal of  the  plague  which  fell  upon  Strasburg  in  the 
year  1348,  he  refused  to  observe  the  papal  ban.  Not 
only  this :  in  connection  with  two  co-laborers  he  sent 
forth  a  written  protest  against  the  hard  and  unrighteous 
dealing  of  the  Pope.  This  bold  course  provoked  attack, 
and  Tauler  was  obliged  to  retire  from  Strasburg.  Little 
is  known  of  his  later  years.     He  died  in  1361. 

Tauler  did  not  elaborate  so  complete  a  speculative 
system  as  is  found  with  Eckhart.  Still  he  did  not  limit 
himself  entirely  to  the  practical  aspects  of  piety.  His 
more  radical  statements  hardly  fall  short  of  the  most 
daring  propositions  of  Eckhart.  Taken  literally,  his 
representations  respecting  union  with  God  imply  a  thor- 
ough elimination  of  finite  personality,  a  sinking  back  of 
the  soul  into  the  undistinguished  essence  with  which 
its  ground  is  identical.  But  it  is  safe  to  allow  for  the 
exaggeration  characteristic  of  the  mj^stical  dialect.     In- 

1  There  was,  it  has  been  supposed,  a  head  of  the  Friends  of  God,  "  the 
great  Friend  of  God  from  the  Oberland,"  whom  Carl  Schmidt  and 
others  have  identified  with  the  layman  Nicolas  of  Basle.  A  somewhat 
prolix  account  is  extant  purporting  to  be  a  narrative  of  the  way  in 
which  the  layman  introduced  himself  to  a  distinguished  master  (Tauler) 
in  the  year  1340,  and  was  instrumental  in  leading  him  to  a  more  thorough 
conversion.  Kecent  criticism,  however,  is  inclined  to  be  sceptical  re- 
specting this  representation,  and  at  any  rate  to  question  the  identity  of 
Nicolas  of  Basle  with  the  "Friend  of  God  from  the  Oberland."  (See 
Heinrich  S.  Denifle,  Taulers  Bekehrung ;  also  Hermann  Haupt,  Zeit- 
schrift  fUr  Kirch  en  geschichte,  Band  vii.  508,  509.) 


THE  MYSTICS.  465 

deed,  in  apparent  contradiction  with  some  of  his  own 
representations,  Tauler  warns  against  the  pantheistic 
idea  of  a  complete  identity  with  the  divine.^ 

A  few  sentences  from  his  sermons  will  indicate  the 
drift  of  Tauler's  thinking  on  the  union  of  the  soul  with 
God.  "  I  have,"  he  says,  "  a  power  in  my  soul  which 
enables  me  to  perceive  God.  I  am  as  certain  as  that 
I  live,  that  nothing  is  so  near  to  me  as  God.  He  is 
nearer  to  me  than  I  am  to  myself."  "  I  tell  thee  by 
that  Truth,  which  is  God  Himself,  if  thou  art  ever  to 
become  a  man  after  the  will  of  God,  everything  must 
die  in  thee  to  which  thou  art  cleaving,  whether  it  be 
God's  gifts,  or  the  saints,  or  the  angels,  or  even  all  that 
would  afford  thee  consolation  for  thy  spiritual  wants : 
all  must  be  given  up."  ''  This  ground  and  substance 
of  the  soul  will  God  possess  alone,  and  will  not  that 
any  creature  should  enter  therein.  In  this  chamber  of 
the  heart  God  works  through  means  in  the  one  class  of 
men,  and  without  means  in  the  other  and  more  blessed 
sort.  But  what  He  works  in  the  souls  of  these  last, 
with  whom  He  holds  direct  converse,  none  can  say,  nor 
can  any  man  give  account  of  it  to  another,  but  he  only 
who  has  felt  it  knows  what  it  is ;  and  even  he  can  tell 
thee  nothing  of  it,  save  only  that  God  in  very  truth 
hath  possessed  the  ground  of  his  soul."  "  Time  and 
place  are  parts,  and  God  is  one ;  therefore,  if  our  soul 
is  to  know  God,  it  must  know  Him  above  time  and 
place."  "  God  touches  this  brimming  vessel  [the  souls 
of  spiritual  men]  with  His  finger,  and  it  overflows,  and 
pours  itself  back  again  into  its  Divine  Source,  from 
whence  it  has  proceeded.     It  flows  back  into  its  source 

1  See  Carl  Schmidt,  Johannes  Tauler. 
30 


466  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

without  channel  or  means,  and  loses  itself  altogether; 
will,  knowledge,  love,  perception,  are  all  swallowed  up 
and  lost  in  God,  and  become  one  with  Him.  Now  God 
loveth  Himself  in  these  men,  and  worketh  in  them  all 
their  works."  "  While  we  are  beholding,  we  are  not 
one  with  that  which  we  behold ;  so  long  as  there  is 
anything  in  our  perceptions  or  understandings,  we  are 
not  one  with  the  One  ;  for  where  there  is  nothing  but 
One,  we  can  see  nothing  but  One ;  for  we  cannot  see 
God  except  in  blindness,  or  know  Him  except  in  igno- 
rance." 1  In  this  last,  we  have  in  all  its  length  and 
breadth  the  Neo-Platonic  theory  of  a  transcendental 
nescience. 

If  Tauler  had  indulged  only  in  sentiments  of  this 
order,  he  could  hardly  have  been,  as  he  was  most  as- 
suredly, one  of  the  most  popular  and  effective  preachers 
of  his  century.  A  large  part  of  what  he  said  came 
much  nearer  to  the  common  understanding,  and  was 
eminently  adapted  to  edify  and  inspire.  His  sermons 
still  contain  food  for  the  religious  mind.  A  deeply 
spiritual  tone  characterizes  them  throughout.  They 
show  also  clear  traces  of  practical  good  sense.  Tauler 
was  far  from  directing  men  to  a  visionary  life.  He 
strongly  insisted  upon  practical  righteousness.  Let  his 
own  words  testify.  "  You  should  not,"  he  says,  "trust 
in  virtue  that  has  not  yet  been  put  in  practice."  ''  There 
is  no  work  so  small,  no  art  so  mean,  but  it  all  comes 
from  God,  and  is  a  special  gift  of  His."  "  If  I  were  not 
a  priest,  but  were  living  as  a  layman,  I  should  take  it 
as  a  great  favor  that  I  knew  how  to  make  shoes,  and 
should  try  to  make  them  better  than  any  one  else." 
1  Translation  by  Susanna  Winkworth. 


THE  MYSTICS.  467 

''  Our  Lord  did  not  rebuke  Martha  on  account  of  her' 
works,  for  they  were  holy  and  good ;  He  reproved  her 
on  account  of  her  anxiety."  "  If,  when  at  thy  work, 
thou  shouldest  feel  thy  spirit  stirred  within  thee,  receive 
it  with  solemn  joy,  and  thus  learn  to  do  thy  work  in 
God,  instead  of  straightway  fleeing  from  thy  task." 

A  contemporary  of  Tauler,  destined  like  him  to  a 
wide  and  long-continued  appreciation,  was  Henry  Suso 
(1295-1366).  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  entered  the 
Dominican  cloister  in  Constance.  After  ten  years  of 
severe  discipline,  which  his  earnest  spirit  imposed  upon 
him,  he  carried  forward  his  education  at  Strasburg  and 
Cologne.  For  some  years  preceding  1336  he  was  prior 
at  Constance.  Accusation  of  heresy  caused  him  to  be 
deposed  from  this  position.  But  he  was  not  troubled 
further  on  account  of  his  faith,  and  soon  by  his  writings 
greatly  extended  his  fame  and  popularity.  His  Horolo- 
gium  ceterncB  Sapientice^  completed  in  1338,  speedily  at- 
tained a  wide  circulation. 

Suso  shared  to  a  conspicuous  degree  the  speculative 
views  of  Eckhart,  though  far  from  being  his  equal  in 
genius  for  speculation.  As  compared  with  Tauler,  he 
was  a  man  of  less  practical  force.  The  emotional  ele- 
ment was  peculiarly  his  dower,  and  the  quickness  and 
warmth  of  his  sympathies  were  made  manifest  both  in 
his  writings  and  his  converse.  Through  these  traits  he 
naturally  was  qualified  to  minister  effectively  to  women. 
Many  sisters  in  the  cloisters  were  stimulated  by  him  to 
enthusiastic  piety,  and  many  daughters  of  nobles  were 
incited  by  his  influence  to  renounce  the  world. 

Shortly  after  Tauler  and  Suso  had  passed  off  the 
stage,  an  important  movement  took  place  in  the  Neth- 


468  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

eriands.  We  refer  to  the  rise  of  the  society  known  as 
the  Brethren  of  the  Common  Life.  Before  its  organi- 
zation, mystical  piety  had  found  in  the  Netherlands  an 
enthusiastic  representative.  This  was  Ruysbroek,  long 
a  priest  at  Brussels,  in  his  later  years  an  inmate  of  the 
cloister  of  Griinthal.  Throughout  his  long  life  (1293- 
1381)  he  was  a  man  who  delighted  in  spiritual  con- 
templations. His  fervor  sometimes  led  him,  like  his 
distinguished  contemporaries  in  Germany,  to  over-em- 
phatic expressions  respecting  the  union  of  man  and 
God.  Gerson,  though  highly  pleased  with  some  parts 
of  Ruysbroek's  writings,  thought  it  necessary  to  cen- 
sure others  as  tinged  with  pantheistic  heterodoxy.^ 
Ullmann,  however,  concludes  that  the  fault  was  rather 
in  expression  than  in  belief,  that  a  total  survey  of  the 
writings  of  Ruysbroek  must  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
his  standpoint  was  theistic  rather  than  pantheistic. ^ 

The  devotion  of  Ruysbroek,  freed  from  the  element 
of  dubious  speculation,  was  represented  by  the  Brethren 
of  the  Common  Life.  The  founder  of  this  association 
was  a  younger  contemporary  of  Ruysbroek,  his  friend 
and  admirer,  Gerhard  Groot  (1340-1384).  In  Gerhard 
the  bent  to  action  was  more  prominent  than  that  to  con- 
templation. He  was  an  energetic  preacher,  and  travelled 
largely  for  the  sake  of  bringing  the  gospel  message  to 
the  people.  At  the  same  time  he  took  a  great  interest 
in  the  spread  of  religious  literature,  and  employed  asso- 
ciates in  multiplying  copies  of  good  books.  The  sug- 
gestion that  those  employed  in  this  way  might  live  more 
economically  by  having  all  things   in  common,  was  tho 

1  Gerson's  mysticism  was  much  like  that  of  the  Victorines. 

2  Reform atoren  vor  der  Reformation. 


THE  MYSTICS.  469 

occasion  of  his  institute.  First  a  house  for  the  new 
brotherhood  was  established  at  his  native  place  in 
Deventer.  Soon  the  association  had  houses  in  many 
places.  These  houses  differed  from  monasteries  in  that 
no  irrevocable  vow  was  imposed,  and  the  life  of  the 
brethren  was  not  fettered  by  an  elaborate  rule.  A 
single  house  contained  about  twenty  members.  At 
first  the  proportion  of  priests  was  small;  later  the 
relative  number  of  those  in  orders  increased.  Besides 
houses  for  men,  there  were  also  those  for  women.  Soon 
after  the  death  of  the  founder,  in  accordance  with  a 
plan  which  he  had  broached,  houses  of  canons  regular 
were  added  to  the  brotherhood. 

An  eminently  useful  vocation  was  fulfilled  by  the 
Brethren  of  the  Common  Life.  They  gave  an  example 
of  industrious  and  pious  living.  By  zeal  in  multiplying 
books,  by  preaching,  and  by  lectures,  they  greatly  helped 
to  diffuse  religious  intelligence.  The  explicit  emphasis 
which  some  of  their  number  placed  upon  the  translation 
of  the  Scriptures  into  the  vernacular,  and  upon  their 
general  use  by  the  people,  served  to  enlarge  the  sphere 
of  enlightened  sentiment  on  this  subject.  Especially 
fruitful  of  good  was  their  relation  to  the  instruction  and 
training  of  youth.  In  some  instances  they  made  a  free 
connection  with  existing  schools,  supplying  shelter  and 
aid  to  those  in  attendance.  In  other  cases  they  had 
schools  of  their  own.  Tuition  was  remitted  to  the  indi- 
gent. So  a  multitude  received  from  them  the  stamp  of 
a  pious  education. 

It  was  under  the  fostering  influences  of  this  associa- 
tion that  Thomas  a  Kempis  developed  the  lofty  piety 
which  found  immortal  expression   in  the  "  Imitation  of 


470  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

Christ.''  Thomas  was  born  in  1380,  at  the  town  of 
Kempen,  in  the  diocese  of  Cologne.  At  the  age  of  thir- 
teen he  was  sent  to  the  school  at  Deventer,  where  he 
enjoyed  the  kind  offices  of  the  Brethren  of  the  Com- 
mon Life.  After  a  happy  sojourn  here  of  seven  years, 
Thomas  proceeded,  by  the  advice  of  Florentius,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Gerhard  Groot,  to  join  the  house  of  canons 
regular  which  had  been  instituted  at  Mount  St.  Agnes. 
In  this  cloister,  absorbed  in  literary  and  religious  labors, 
he  pursued  the  even  course  of  his  quiet  and  contempla- 
tive life.     He  died  at  an  advanced  age,  in  1471. 

The  spiritual  proverbs  and  meditations  of  Thomas  a 
Kempis,  as  they  are  gathered  in  his  noted  work,  maybe 
regarded  as  largely  expressing  the  spirit  of  the  brother- 
hood to  which  he  belonged.  The  speculative  and  the 
dogmatic  had  a  subordinate  place.  A  piety  at  once 
mystical  and  practical,  having  indeed  more  of  a  monas- 
tic coloring  than  belongs  to  the  purest  ideal,  still  of  a 
very  noble  and  spiritual  type,  was  cultivated  by  Thomas 
a  Kempis  and  by  many  of  his  associates.  As  is  observed 
by  Ullmann,  their  relation  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  and  the  theology  of  the  day  resembled  that  of 
the  Pietists  to  the  strict  Lutheranism  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Their  aim  was  a  reform  of  life,  rather  than  of 
dogmas.  There  was,  it  is  true,  a  dogmatic  tendenc}^  in 
their  subjective  type  of  piety.  The  little  stress  which 
they  placed  upon  the  outward  organism  of  the  Church 
was  not  in  the  direction  of  the  strict  Romish  con- 
ception. But  this  tendency  was  not  a  matter  of  con- 
scious design.  They  had  no  ambition  to  innovate 
upon  the  existing  theological  system  ;  they  only  wished 
to   give  it   the    best  practical  application.     There   was 


THE  MYSTICS.  471 

one,  however,  the  earlier  stages  of  whose  education 
were  largely  shaped  by  them,  who  apprehended  in  a 
measure  the  need  of  dogmatic  reform.  We  speak  of 
John  Wessel. 

This  distinguished  forerunner  of  Luther  was  born  at 
Groningen  in  1419  or  1420.  Being  by  nature  of  a  ra- 
tional turn  of  mind,  averse  to  superstition,  inclined  to 
demand  substantial  grounds  for  belief,  he  had  a  special 
aptitude  for  a  critical  examination  of  the  current  dog- 
matic system.  To  this  were  added  extraordinary  educa- 
tional advantages.  He  acquired  Greek  and  Hebrew. 
As  scholar  or  teacher,  he  attended  the  leading  universi- 
ties of  Europe.  Proceeding  in  early  manhood  from  the 
instruction  of  the  Brethren  of  the  Common  Life,  he  stud- 
ied at  the  University  of  Cologne.  Later,  through  a  long 
series  of  years,  he  sojourned  at  Paris,  Louvain,  Rome, 
various  cities  of  Italy,  and  Heidelberg.  Equipped 
with  the  fruits  of  this  ample  and  varied  tuition,  he  de- 
voted the  last  decade  of  his  life  to  those  literary  la- 
bors which  made  him  a  conspicuous  factor  in  the  great 
Reformation  of  the  following  centur}- . 

Luther  gave  an  emphatic  testimony  to  the  kinship  of 
Wessel's  teaching  with  that  of  the  Reformation,  when 
he  said  that  it  might  seem  as  though  he  had  taken  all 
his  doctrines  from  his  distinguished  predecessor.  This 
is  beyond  the  proper  limits.  Still,  Wessel  proceeded 
far  toward  the  standpoint  of  the  Reformation.  He  em- 
phatically denied  the  necessity  of  the  papal  headship. 
He  declared  that  the  Church  is  founded  upon  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  not  the  Scriptures  upon  the  Church.  He 
assumed  the  fallibility  of  the  Pope  and  the  hierarchy. 
While  allowing  a  certain  presumption  in  favor  of  an 


472  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

opinion  upon  which  many  learned  bishops  have  agreed, 
he  maintained  that  such  an  opinion  will  still  bear  in- 
vestigation, and  that  in  prosecuting  this  investigation 
greater  reverence  must  be  paid  to  the  Scriptures  than 
to  any  verdict  whatever  of  men.  He  clearly  acknowl- 
edged the  common  priesthood  of  believers.  If  he  did 
not  openly  reject  the  Romish  dogma  respecting  the  real 
body  of  Christ  in  the  eucharist,  he  laid  the  whole  stress 
upon  the  spiritual  appropriation  of  Christ  by  meditation 
and  faith,  and  claimed  that  the  essential  grace  of  the 
sacrament  may  be  received  apart  from  the  visible  ele- 
ments. He  denied  that  the  priest  has  any  judicial  func- 
tion in  the  sacrament  of  penance,  and  reprobated  the 
notion  that  forgiveness  is  conditioned  upon  works  of 
satisfaction.  He  denounced  indulgences  as  having  no 
warrant  either  in  Scripture,  tradition,  or  reason.  He  de- 
nied the  penal  character  of  the  discipline  in  purgatory, 
regarded  the  purifying  fire  as  a  spiritual  agency,  namely, 
the  presence  of  God  and  His  truth,  and  maintained  that 
the  interior  advancement  of  the  subject  toward  complete 
purity,  rather  than  the  power  of  the  Church,  determines 
the  duration  of  the  purgatorial  process.  In  fine,  Wessel 
exhibited  a  faculty  for  rational  criticism  and  insight 
which  entitles  him  to  an  honored  place  among  the  her- 
alds of  the  Reformation.! 

1  See  Ullmann,  Reformatoren  vor  der  Reformation. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SAVONAROLA. 


THE  career  of  Savonarola  was  not  so  far  reaching  in 
its  results  as  that  of  Wycliffe  and  Huss.  But  if 
his  influence  was  circumscribed,  it  was  peculiarly  in- 
tense in  the  field  which  it  covered.  Few  men  have  ex- 
ercised a  more  potent  influence  over  any  community 
than  was  wielded  by  Girolamo  Savonarola  over  Flor- 
ence in  the  last  decade  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

He  was  born  at  Ferrara  in  1452.  His  life,  therefore, 
fell  in  one  of  the  most  corrupt  eras  in  the  history  of  the 
Church.  Before  he  had  reached  the  age  of  manhood, 
that  succession  of  godless  pontiffs  had  begun  which 
contains  the  names  of  Sixtus  IV.,  Innocent  VIII.,  and 
Alexander  VI.  The  twin  vices,  ferocity  and  sensuality, 
were  rampant  in  Italy  as  never  before  perhaps,  since 
the  days  of  the  pagan  Empire.  The  renaissance  in  art 
and  hterature  wasVar  from  being  accompanied  by  a  re- 
vival of  piety.  While  in  other  quarters  the  new  zeal 
for  classic  learning  was  commonly  associated  with  a 
spirit  of  reform,  in  Italy  it  was  largely  associated  with 
unbelief  and  secularism.  Circles  of  the  cultured  might 
be  found  in  such  places  as  Florence  and  Rome,  who 
evidently  had  more  sympathy  with  classic  heathenism 
than  with  Christianity. 


474  THE  MEDIJ^VAL   CHURCH. 

Serious  and  devout  from  childhood,  Savonarola  was 
naturally  revolted  by  the  moral  and  religious  apostasy 
of  the  age.  Following  the  usual  expedient  of  earnest  pi- 
ety in  mediaeval  times,  he  betook  himself  to  the  cloister. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  joined  the  Dominicans  in 
Bologna.  Near  the  close  of  the  year  1482,  he  proceeded 
by  the  direction  of  his  order  to  Florence,  as  teacher  of 
the  novices  in  the  cloister  of  San  Marco.  The  next 
year,  he  was  called  upon  to  exercise  his  talents  as  a 
preacher.  The  result  was  far  from  being  prophetic  of 
his  oratorical  fame.  The  people  were  not  interested, 
and  declined  to  hear  his  message.  But  the  fire  was  al- 
ready burning  in  the  heart  of  the  devoted  monk,  and 
must  needs  command  effective  utterance.  More  willing 
listeners  were  found  in  other  places.  The  tone  of  a 
high- wrought  enthusiasm  began  to  blend  with  his  mes- 
sage. In  his  exposition  of  the  Apocatypse  at  Brescia,  in 
1486,  he  gave  a  premonition  of  his  prophetic  vocation  in 
the  earnestness  and  confidence  with  which  he  urged  his 
warnings  and  counsels. 

In  1489,  near  the  end  of  the  rule  of  that  distinguished 
representative  of  the  Medici  family,  Lorenzo  the  Mag- 
nificent, Savonarola  returned  to  Florence.  Two  years 
later  he  became  prior  of  San  Marco.  It  was  chiefly, 
however,  as  the  impassioned  preacher  that  he  made 
his  power  felt.  In  striking  contrast  with  his  former 
ill  success,  he  now  commanded  the  attention  of  vast 
throngs.  His  theme  and  his  manner  were  both  awaken- 
ing. Coming  into  the  pulpit  with  a  mind  steeped  in  the 
visions  of  the  Apocalypse,  he  used  its  bold  imagery  to 
paint  the  on-coming  judgments  of  God.  The  corruptions 
of  the  Church,  the  impending  chastisements  of  Heaven, 


SAVONAROLA.  475 

the  necessity  and  the  certainty  of  reform,  were  the  ever- 
recurring  thoughts  which  he  endeavored  to  burn  into 
the  minds  of  the  people.  He  presented  the  mien  of  a 
prophet;  yea,  assumed  for  himself  positively  the  func- 
tions of  a  prophet.  This  with  him  assuredly  was  no  art 
of  deception.  The  anticipations  which  took  such  defi- 
nite shape  in  his  mind  he  believed  to  be  revelations 
from  above.^  A  multitude  of  the  people  also  believed 
in  his  prophetic  office.  Says  that  great  exponent  of 
state-craft,  Machiavelli :  "  The  people  of  Florence  seem 
not  to  be  ignorant  or  rude.  Nevertheless,  they  have 
been  convinced  by  Fra  Girolamo  that  he  speaks  with 
God.  I  will  not  decide  whether  it  is  true  or  not ;  for 
concerning  so  great  a  man  it  behooves  us  to  speak  with 
reverence.  But  multitudes  beUeved  it,  and  it  sufficed 
for  their  faith,  without  seeing  anything  wonderful  from 
him,  to  regard  his  life,  his  teaching,  and  the  tendency 
of  his  career."  2  As  to  the  merits  of  this  claim  to  pro- 
phetic powers,  it  would  be  no  superstition  to  acknowl- 
edge a  marked  impress  of  the  Spirit  in  his  longings  for 
the  renovation  of  the  Church,  and  possibly  also  in  his 
presentiments  of  coming  reform.  It  must  be  allowed, 
moreover,  that  some  of  his  specific  predictions,  as  those 
relating  to  the  invasion  of  Charles  VIII.  and  his  own 
martyrdom,  seem  to  have  been  fulfilled.     Others,  how- 

1  In  numerous  passages  he  distinctly  claims  for  them  this  origin.  But 
in  some  instances  he  seems  to  arrogate  no  higher  enlightenment  than 
any  well  instructed  Christian  might  attain  through  familiarity  with  the 
Bible,  and  reflection  on  the  condition  and  needs  of  the  Church.  As 
Villari  concludes,  it  is  impossible  fully  to  harmonize  Savonarola  with 
himself  on  this  subject.  (Life  and  Times  of  Girolamo  Savonarola, 
translated  from  the  Italian  by  Linda  Villari.) 

2  Quoted  by  Karl  Hase,  Neue  Propheten. 


476  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

ever,  such  as  the  conversion  of  the  Turks  and  the  sig- 
nal prosperity  of  Florence  after  her  season  of  chastise- 
ment, failed  of  any  adequate  realization.  Taking  his 
prophesying  as  a  whole,  there  is  reason  to  regard  it  as 
rather  the  product  of  an  ardent  fancy,  intense  convic- 
tions, and  burning  desires  for  the  reform  of  the  Church, 
than  the  result  of  specific  communications  from  God. 

Florence  for  a  time  bowed  to  the  authority  of  her 
prophet.  The  invasion  of  Charles  VIII.  in  1494,  as  be- 
ing incidental  to  the  expulsion  of  the  Medici  family, 
who  naturally  were  opposed  to  the  bold  preacher,  tended 
to  increase  his  importance.  A  conspicuous  part  was 
assigned  to  him  in  the  inauguration  of  the  popular  gov- 
ernment which  followed  the  expulsion.  At  the  request 
of  the  citizens,  Savonarola  drew  the  outlines  of  the  new 
constitution.  His  draft  was  by  no  means  discreditable. 
A  republic  based  on  a  limited  suffrage,  with  an  execu- 
tive board,  and  with  two  assemblies,  a  larger  and  a 
smaller,  for  legislative  purposes,  —  these  were  the  main 
features  in  the  scheme.  There  was  nothing  here  pai- 
ticularly  savoring  of  theocratic  notions.  The  plan  of 
government  as  presented  by  Savonarola  was  fully  within 
the  bounds  of  statesmanlike  sobriety.  It  was  only  in 
the  part  which  he  took  as  prophet  or  oracle,  over  against 
the  civil  government,  that  he  verged  on  the  theocratic 
extreme.  His  pulpit  for  several  years  was  the  real 
throne  in  Florence.  While  his  desires  for  the  purifica- 
tion of  morals  were  by  no  means  fully  realized,  there 
were  still  conspicuous  tokens  of  a  transformation.  The 
most  marked  of  these  perhaps  was  the  new  style  of  car- 
nival which  was  inaugurated  in  February,  1497,  an  auto 
de  fe  of  vanities,  at  which  a  vast  collection  of  articles 


SAVONAROLA.  477 

of  luxury  and  ostentation  — masks,  dresses,  instruments 
of  music,  books  of  doubtful  tendency,  etc.  —  were  pub- 
licly burned  in  the  marketplace. 

This  date  marks  the  culmination  of  Savonarola's 
influence.  Opposition  had  never  been  wanting ; 
henceforth  it  advanced  toward  the  proportions  of  an 
overwhelming  tide.  Young  nobles,  disliking  the  re- 
straints put  upon  them,  and  the  partisans  of  the  Med- 
ici, spared  no  pains  to  stir  up  enmity  against  the  bold 
preacher.  Such  found  naturally  an  ally  in  the  un- 
principled Pope,  Alexander  VI.  At  first  he  proceeded 
in  a  rather  temporizing  manner.  He  invited  Savona- 
rola to  Rome  (1495),  ostensibly  to  a  friendly  con- 
ference ;  then  inhibited  his  preaching ;  then  sought 
through  an  agent  to  buy  him  off  from  his  reformatory 
work  with  the  red  hat  of  a  cardinal.  Savonarola  re- 
tired from  the  pulpit  for  a  short  interval.  To  the  offer 
of  a  cardinal's  place  he  refused  all  consideration,  and 
declared  that  he  desired  no  other  red  hat  than  one  red  V/"^ 
with  the  blood  of  martyrdom.  The  Pope  for  his  part 
was  not  loath  to  bestow  the  coveted  honor ;  indeed,  he 
is  said  to  have  expressed  his  final  resolution  respecting 
the  prophet  monk  in  these  fierce  terms :  "  Though  he 
were  John  the  Baptist,  he  must  die."  Sentence  of 
excommunication  was  issued  in  1497.  For  a  time, 
Savonarola  had  sufficient  support  to  be  able  to  discard 
the  Pope's  ban.  But  at  length  the  party  of  his  oppo- 
nents gained  the  ascendency.  Shortly  afterwards,  the 
people  were  alienated  by  the  miscarriage  of  a  proposed 
ordeal  by  fire,  which  Savonarola  had  reluctantly  allowed 
to  be  undertaken  between  a  monk  of  his  order  and  a 
Franciscan. 


478  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH, 

The  scale  was  now  effectually  turned  against  the  re- 
former. He  was  apprehended  with  mob-like  violence, 
condemned  by  a  cruel  and  arbitrary  process,  during 
which  he  was  several  times  put  to  the  torture,  hanged 
upon  a  cross-shaped  gibbet  with  two  devoted  adherents 
of  his  order  (May  23,  1498),  and  burned.  The  ashes 
of  the  martyrs  were  cast  into  the  Arno. 

Savonarola  died  convinced  of  the  righteousness  of 
his  cause.  The  excruciating  pains  of  torture  may 
have  wrung  from  him  some  half-involuntary  expres- 
sions which  might  be  construed  into  a  confession  of 
error  respecting  his  prophetical  vocation.  But  he 
meant  at  heart  no  such  confession,  as  he  himself  de- 
clared more  than  once  when  he  was  freed  from  the 
torments.  The  final  ordeal  was  met  by  him  with  quiet 
heroism.  The  feeling  with  which  he  looked  toward 
the  shameful  death  is  indicated  by  his  own  words. 
"  My  Lord,"  he  said,  "  was  willing  to  die  for  my  sins ;  / 
should  not  I  be  willing  from  love  to  Him  to  surrender  ^ 
this  poor  life  ?  " 

As  powerfully  emphasizing  the  need  of  reform,  and 
stirring  up  thought  in  that  direction,  Savonarola  may 
be  numbered  among  the  forerunners  of  the  Protestant 
Reformation.  It  should  be  understood,  however,  that 
we  find  with  him  no  distinct  anticipation  of  the  Protes- 
tant creed.  He  accepted  the  whole  list  of  Roman 
Catholic  dogmas  which  claimed  general  assent  in  his 
time.  He  revered  even  the  prerogatives  of  the  Roman 
pontiff,  only  claiming  the  right  to  appeal  from  a  pope 
who,  like  Alexander  VI.,  had  been  virtually  discrowned 
by  his  iniquities.  His  affiliation  with  Protestantism 
was  in  spirit  rather  than  in  formal  belief,  and  appears 


SAVONAROLA.  479 

especially  in  his  attachment  to  the  Scriptures,  and  his 
disposition  to  appeal  directly  to  the  grace  of  God  in 
Jesus  Christ. 

Whatever  errors  of  judgment  he  may  be  charged 
with,  one  cannot  fail  to  recognize  in  Savonarola  a  man 
of  rare  piet}^  and  exemplary  singleness  of  purpose.  We 
are  sure  that  we  are  presented  with  the  genuine  ex- 
pressions of  a  deep  and  sincere  heart,  when  we  read 
such  lofty  sentiments  from  his  pen  as  the  following : 
*'  I  will  endure  all  things  for  the  sake  of  that  redeeming 
love  which  makes  all  other  things  sweet  and  pleasant 
to  me.  This  is  sufficient  for  me,  and  fills  up  all  my  de- 
sires. This  is  my  exceeding  great  reward."  "  Thou, 
Lord,  art  my  supreme  good,  without  admixture  of 
evil;  Thou  art  my  joy  without  sorrow,  my  strength 
without  weakness,  my  essential  truth  without  error ; 
Thou,  Lord,  art  my  all  in  all.  Thou  kindlest  the  af- 
fections into  love,  and  canst  beatify  all  the  powers  of 
the  mind  and  the  heart."  "  Behold,  O  my  God,  how 
great  are  Thy  mercies  I  Time  would  be  insufficient 
to  enumerate  them.  No  man  can  glory  in  himself. 
Let  all  the  just  in  heaven  and  earth  stand  forth,  that 
in  Thy  presence  we  may  interrogate  them,  if  it  be  by 
their  own  merits  they  have  been  deemed  worthy  to 
obtain  salvation  ;  assuredly  will  they  all  respond,  '  Not 
unto  us,  but  to  Thy  name,  give  glory  for  Thy  mercy 
and  Thy  truth.'" 

Though  condemned  by  the  Pope  in  terms  of  strong 
denunciation,  Savonarola  has  by  no  means  been  regarded 
with  universal  disfavor  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
The  publication  of  his  writings  was  only  temporarily 
estopped  by  Alexander  VI.     The  Congregation  of  the 


480  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

Index,  which  examined  them  in  1558,  took  but  little  ex- 
ception to  them.  Not  a  few  have  been  willing  to  grant 
the  saintship  of  Savonarola.  Even  a  Pope  (Benedict 
XIV.)  is  said  to  have  allowed  that  he  was  worthy  of 
canonization. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  MEDIEVAL  GEEEK  CHURCH. 

THE  more  important  events  in  the  history  of  the 
Greek  Church,  after  the  close  of  the  iconoclastic 
controversy,  grew  out  of  its  relation  to  the  imperial 
government.  Schemes  and  projects  of  the  Emperor 
gave  rise  to  the  principal  agitations  that  occurred.  It 
will  be  fitting,  therefore,  to  take  a  glance  at  the  for- 
tunes of  the  Eastern  Empire  before  directing  our  atten- 
tion to  ecclesiastical  affairs. 

A  little  more  than  a  score  of  years  from  the  close  of 
the  iconoclastic  controversy,  a  distinguished  dynasty 
came  to  the  throne  at  Constantinople.  The  founder 
was  Basilius  I.,  whose  deed  of  blood  put  aside  the  un- 
worthy Michael  III.  The  Basilian  dynasty  ruled  for 
nearly  two  centuries  (867-1057).  During  this  time  the 
Empire  attained  an  unusual  degree  of  prosperity.  The 
wave  of  Mohammedan  invasion  was  turned  back,  and 
encroachments  from  other  directions  were  successfully 
repelled.  *'  Antioch  and  Edessa  were  reunited  to  the 
"Empire.  The  Bulgarian  monarchy  was  conquered,  and 
the  Danube  became  again  the  northern  frontier.  The 
Slavonians  in  Greece  were  almost  exterminated.  Byzan- 
tine commerce  filled  the  whole  Mediterranean,  and 
legitimated  the  claim  of  the  Emperor  to  the  title  of 

31 


482  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

'Autocrat  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.'"^  This  pros- 
perity, however,  was  not  without  its  offset.  Under  the 
Basilian  line  the  government  became,  even  more  than  in 
the  preceding  centuries,  concentrated  in  the  sovereign. 
Responsibility  to  the  State  was  merged  in  responsibility 
to  the  Emperor,  and  self-respecting  officials  gave  way 
very  largely  to  the  subservient  creatures  of  an  auto- 
cratic will.^ 

Following  the  Basilian  line,  we  have  a  period  reach- 
ing down  to  the  conquest  of  Constantinople  by  the  cru- 
saders (1057-1204).  During  this  period  the  house  of 
Comnenus  was  in  power.  It  is  commonly  characterized 
as  a  time  of  decline.  The  loyalty  of  the  more  distant 
provinces  waned.  Byzantine  society  in  general  was 
depressed  by  grievous  burdens  of  taxation.  That  re- 
serve power  which  belongs  to  a  healthy  moral  tone  was 
largely  wanting,  and  tended  to  diminish  more  and  more 
under  the  corrupting  example  of  the  court.  Thus  it 
came  about  that  some  twenty  thousand  crusaders  were 
able  to  take  possession  of  the  throne  at  Constantino- 
ple, and  that  the  domination  of  the  Latin  intruders  was 
endured  for  upwards  of  half  a  century. 

During  the  period  of  Latin  rule  the  Empire  was  dis- 
membered into  a  number  of  sections.  Aside  from  Con- 
stantinople, Trebizond  and  Nicsea  claimed  each  to  have 
the  true  heir  to  tlie  throne,  and  to  be  the  seat  of  impe- 
rial sovereignty.  The  last  city  in  the  end  verified  its 
title.  On  the  downfall  of  the  Latin  power,  the  sceptre 
was  transferred  from  Nicsea  to  Constantinople  by  Michael 

1  George  Finlay,  History  of  the  Byzantine  Empire. 

2  G.  F.  Hertzberg,  Geschichte  der  Byzantiner  und  des  Osmanischen 
Reiches. 


THE  MEDIEVAL   GREEK  CHURCH.  483 

Palseologus  (1261).  The  restored  Empire,  however, 
was  not  that  of  previous  times.  Its  territory  was  nar- 
row, and  tended  ever  to  more  contracted  limits,  espe- 
cially from  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  when 
Othman  led  his  Turks  into  Bithynia.  The  administra- 
tion was  not  of  the  order  required  to  meet  successfully 
the  enormous  difSculties  of  the  situation.  Distinguished 
neither  by  honesty  nor  vigor,  given  to  an  intriguing  and 
wavering  policy,  the  house  of  Palseologus  was  ill  quali- 
fied to  save  the  Empire.  Its  greatest  honor  was  won 
by  its  last  representative.  Constantine  XI.  refused  to 
survive  the  final  catastrophe  (1453),  and  fell  valiantly 
fighting  against  the  victorious  Turks,  who  planted  the 
crescent  over  the  city  which  had  revered  the  cross  for 
more  than  a  thousand  years. 

The  desperate  straits  of  the  Empire  in  the  later  stages 
of  its  history  explain  the  concessions  that  were  made  to 
the  Latins,  at  various  times,  as  conditions  of  a  reunion 
of  the  two  branches  of  the  Church.  All  such  conces- 
sions were  inspired  by  the  government,  were  political 
expedients  on  the  part  of  the  sovereign,  and  were  re- 
pudiated at  the  first  opportunity  by  the  general  voice  of 
the  Greek  communion.  Take  for  example  the  union 
scheme  which  was  patronized  by  the  founder  of  the 
house  of  Palseologus.  This  Emperor  was  placed  in  a 
difficult  position.  His  relation  with  the  Greeks  was 
somewhat  compromised  by  the  fact  that  he  had  played 
the  part  of  a  usurper,  having  taken  the  reins  of  gov- 
ernment during  the  minority  of  the  rightful  heir,  and 
having  refused  later  to  lay  them  down.  With  the  Lat- 
ins also  he  was  open  to  the  charge  of  usurpation,  since 
he   had  overthrown  the  Latin  dominion  at  Constanti- 


484  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

nople.  He  had  abundant  reasons,  therefore,  to  take 
measures  for  his  own  security,  especially  as  it  became 
apparent  that  Charles  of  Anjou,  King  of  Sicily,  was  de- 
termined to  capture  the  Eastern  capital.  As  a  means 
of  persuading  the  Pope  to  put  a  curb  on  Charles,  the 
Emperor  agreed  to  a  union  scheme  involving  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  Latin  dogma  respecting  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  the  acceptance  of  the  papal  supremcy.  Such 
a  scheme  was  subscribed  by  his  representatives  at  the 
Council  of  Lyons  in  1274.  Begotten  in  diplomacy,  the 
project  also  ended  in  diplomacy.  The  Eastern  Church, 
rather  alienated  than  conciliated  by  such  means,  re- 
mained as  remote  as  before  from  fellowship  with  the 
Western  branch,  and  under  the  next  Emperor  the  union 
was  openly  repudiated. 

Union  projects  equally  artificial  and  equally  fruitless 
"were  attempted  by  some  of  the  sovereigns  of  the  four- 
teenth century.  But  the  most  noted  effort  of  this  kind 
occurred  in  the  fifteenth  century,  in  connection  with  the 
Council  of  Florence  (1438).  As  the  price  of  Latin  as- 
sistance against  the  fatal  encroachments  of  the  Turks, 
the  Emperor  John  VIL  was  willing  to  sacrifice  the  pride 
and  independence  of  the  Eastern  Church.  Present  in 
person  at  the  council,  with  the  Greek  patriarch  and  the 
leading  bishops,  he  constrained  the  whole  delegation, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Bishop  of  Ephesus,  to  sub- 
scribe terms  of  union  agreeable  to  the  Pope.  These 
terms  included  assent,  (1)  to  the  Latin  doctrine  of  the 
double  procession  of  the  Spirit ;  (2)  to  the  propriety 
of  using  unleavened  as  well  as  leavened  bread  in  the 
Lord's  Supper ;  (3)  to  the  fact  of  a  purgatory  in  the 
other  world,  the  inmates  of  which  may  be  assisted  by 


THE  MEDIEVAL    GREEK  CHURCH.  485 

the  good  offices  of  the  Church  m  this  world  ;  (4)  to  the 
papal  supremacy.  The  price  was  paid  to  the  full  at 
Florence  ,  but  the  hoped  for  return  was  not  forthcom- 
ing. The  bishops  who  had  humbled  themselves  to  ac- 
quiescence in  the  demands  of  the  West  were  met  with 
such  a  storm  of  popular  reprobation,  that  many  of  them 
condemned  and  retracted  their  own  subscription  to  the 
obnoxious  compact.  Under  such  circumstances,  the 
zeal  of  the  Latins  for  the  relief  of  Constantinople,  lan- 
guid enough  in  any  case,  was  far  from  being  quickened 
into  liberality  and  enthusiasm.  So  the  doomed  city 
passed  on  to  its  fate. 

As  respects  theological  developments,  the  Greek 
Church  in  these  centuries  offers  little  that  is  worthy  of 
attention.  While  there  may  have  been  a  certain  activ- 
ity of  mind,  it  was  not  of  a  fruitful  order.  Disputation, 
where  it  took  on  any  semblance  of  originality,  dealt 
mainly  with  subjects  little  worthy  of  serious  considera- 
tion. Thus,  it  is  recorded  that  the  question  whether  the 
light  of  the  transfiguration  scene  was  created  or  uncre- 
ated light  occasioned  the  assembling  of  several  synods 
near  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century.  ^ 

Among  mediaeval  Greek  scholars,  several  pertain- 
ing to  the  eleventh  and  the  twelfth  centuries  occupy 
a  leading  place.  Here  belong  Theophylact,  Nice- 
tas  Choniates,  Euthymius  Zigabenus,  Nicolaus  of  Me- 
thone,  and  Eustathius.  The  last  in  this  hst,  according 
to  Neander,  is  entitled,  in  virtue  of  his  pure  character 
and  intelligent  understanding  of  the  claims  of  prac- 
tical piety,  to  be  called  the  Chrysostom  of  the  twelfth 
century. 

1  Gieseler,  §  128. 


486  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

The  inauguration  of  Turkish  rule  at  Constantinople 
did  not  overthrow  its  ecclesiastical  headship  in  the 
Greek  Church.  On  the  contrary,  the  conqueror,  Mo- 
hammed II.,  early  took  occasion  to  strengthen  the 
allegiance  of  his  Greek  subjects  by  proclaiming  him- 
self the  protector  of  their  Church,  and  providing  for  the 
continuance  of  the  patriarchal  dignity.  George  Scho- 
larios  (or  Gennadios),  an  ecclesiastic  who  had  been 
especially  conspicuous  in  the  preceding  years  for  his 
hostility  to  the  union  with  the  Latins,  was  the  first 
to  receive  the  high  office  at  the  hands  of  a  Moham- 
medan sultan. 

An  important  adjunct  to  the  rule  of  the  Greek  patri- 
arch, after  the  close  of  the  tenth  century,  was  found  in 
the  Russian  Church.  As  the  Russians  had  received 
Christianity  from  Constantinople,  so  they  readily  ac- 
knowledged the  ecclesiastical  headship  of  its  patriarch. 
Instances  are  indeed  on  record  in  which  the  Russian 
metropolitan  was  installed  without  the  co-operation  of 
the  patriarch.^  But  a  general  token  of  supremacy  was 
yielded  to  the  latter,  in  that  the  metropolitan  was  con- 
secrated by  his  hand. 

The  original  metropolitan  seat  was  Kieff.  For  an 
interval,  during  the  devastations  of  the  Tartars,  it  was 
transferred  to  Vladimir.  In  1320  i^  was  located  at 
Moscow.  The  metropolitan,  as  the  immediate  head  of 
the  Russian  Church,  exercised  very  important  preroga- 
tives. He  consecrated  the  bishops,  assembled  synods, 
disciplined  the  unworthy  and  disobedient  among  the 
clergy,  anointed  the  sovereign  at  his  coronation,  and 
stood  in  close  relations  with  him  as  an  honored  adviser. 
1  Strahl,  Geschichte  des  russischen  Staats,  vol.  i. 


THE  MEDIEVAL   GREEK   CHURCH.  48T 

While  tenacious  of  his  spiritual  prerogatives,  he  mani- 
fested for  the  most  part  a  prudent  deference  to  the  will 
of  the  sovereign  in  secular  matters.  As  the  same  tem- 
per characterized  the  Russian  hierarchy  in  general,  it 
was  not  often  that  there  was  any  serious  collision  be- 
tween the  spiritual  and  the  temporal  order. 

In  its  ceremonial,  and  the  general  tone  and  ordering 
of  religious  life,  the  Russian  Church  followed  the  Byzan- 
tine type,  only  the  copy  among  a  rude  people  was  nat- 
urally somewhat  less  refined  than  the  original.  Very 
great  account  was  made  of  pictures  as  an  aid  to  wor- 
ship. As  in  mediaeval  Europe  generally,  so  also  in  Rus- 
sia monasticism  was  an  important  factor  in  religious 
life  and  theological  culture.  The  cloisters  afforded  the 
principal  means  of  learning.  However,  it  was  a  very 
limited  contribution  which  they  supplied.  As  for  the 
secular  priest,  taken  at  the  average  he  was  a  being  of 
exceedingly  humble  attainments,  scarcely  able  him- 
self to  understand  the  poorly  translated  homilies  of 
the  fathers  which  he  sometimes  read  to  the  people. 

The  relative  lack  of  intellectual  activity  and  progress 
in  the  Russian  Church  was  but  one  phase  in  the  back- 
wardness of  Russian  civilization  in  general.  Long  after 
the  modern  era  had  dawned  upon  other  portions  of 
Europe,  Russia,  as  is  well  known,  remained  fixed  in 
her  ancestral  customs.  This  retardation  ma}^  be  ex- 
plained in  part  by  the  comparative  isolation  of  the 
country.  Besides  this,  and  in  a  manner  accessory  to 
it,  we  have  the  fact  of  long  subjection  to  Tartar  rule, 
which  gave  prominence  to  Oriental  connections  as  op- 
posed to  European.  Speaking  of  the  effects  of  this 
rule,  a  recent  historian  says :  '•'•  By  separating  Russia 


488  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

from  the  West,  by  making  it  a  political  dependency  of 
Asia,  it  perpetuated  in  the  country  that  Byzantine  half- 
€iYilization  whose  inferiority  to  European  civilization 
became  daily  more  obvious."  ^ 

The  Tartar  avalanche  touched  the  borders  of  Russia 
in  1224.  It  was  at  this  date  that  a  lieutenant  of  Gen- 
ghis Khan  (1154-1227),  whose  conquests  had  already 
covered  one  of  the  largest  domains  ever  ruled  by  a 
single  sceptre,  coming  through  the  region  of  the  Cau- 
casus, entered  the  southern  steppes  of  Russia.  Re- 
sponding to  the  call  of  a  neighboring  tribe  for  aid,  the 
Russian  forces  marched  against  the  invaders.  They 
suffered  a  total  defeat  before  the  impetuous  hosts  of 
the  Tartars.  Subsequent  encounters  were  equally  dis- 
astrous. Russia  became  a  part  of  the  Mongol  empire. 
For  upwards  of  two  centuries  its  princes  were  in 
tributary  relations  to  the  victor,  who  held  the  su- 
premacy over  the  country,  but  did  not  largely  occupy 
its  soil. 

The  Tartar  yoke  was  thrown  off  by  Ivan  the  Third 
(1462-1505).  In  another  respect,  also,  the  reign  of 
this  sovereign  is  noteworthy.  Through  the  good  offices 
of  the  Pope,  the  Byzantine  princess  Sophia,  a  niece  of 
the  last  sovereign  from  the  house  of  Palseologus,  was 
given  in  marriage  to  Ivan.  Her  entrance  into  the  realm 
brought  new  means  of  intellectual  quickening.  "  With 
Sophia,"  says  Rambaud,  "a  multitude  of  Greek  emi- 
grants came  to  Moscow,  not  only  from  Rome,  but 
from  Constantinople  and  Greece.  They  gave  to  Rus- 
sia statesmen,  diplomatists,  engineers,  artists,  and  theo- 
logians. They  brought  with  them  Greek  books,  the 
1  Alfred  Rambaud,  History  of  Russia,  vol.  i. 


[THE  MEDIEVAL   GREEK  CHURCH.  489 

priceless  inheritance  of  ancient  civilization."  In  this 
way  a  new  impulse  was  given  to  learning  and  enter- 
prise. The  change,  however,  was  not  sufficient  to  can- 
cel the  general  aspect  of  immobility  in  the  Russian 
civilization. 


CHAPTER  X. 

MEDLS:VAL   HYMNS,    AECHITECTUEE,  AND   PAINTING. 

I.  —  HYMNS. 

1.  Greek  Hymns.  —  It  has  been  noticed  that  the 
crowning  era  of  Greek  hymnology  began  in  the  eighth 
century.  This  era  was  represented  by  Andrew  of 
Crete,  John  of  Damascus,  Cosmas  of  Jerusalem,  Theo- 
dore of  the  Studium,  Theophanes,  and  others.  Among 
these  John  of  Damascus  bears  the  palm  according  to 
the  verdict  of  competent  critics.  His  more  celebrated 
hymns  are  the  three  canons  on  Easter,  the  Ascension, 
and  St.  Thomas's  Sunday.  The  triumphant  strain  with 
which  the  first  of  these  opens  is  well  known  through 
Neale's  version. 

'T  is  the  Day  of  Resurrection, 

Earth,  tell  it  out  abroad! 
The  Passover  of  gladness, 

The  Passover  of  God  1 
From  death  to  life  eternal, 

From  earth  unto  the  sky, 
Our  Christ  hath  brought  us  over, 

With  hymns  of  victory.^ 

^  'Auaarda-fcos  vix^pa,  \aixirpvvdS)fj.€v  \ao\, 
Udcrxa  Kvpiov,  Ildaxa-     'E/c  yap  Oavdrov 
Trphs  ^w^j/,  Ka\  e/c  77)5  irphs  ovpavhu,  XpicTrhs 
6  ©ehs  rj/xas  Sie^ifiaffev,  iirivlKiov  aSovras. 


• 


MEDIJEVAL  HYMNS.  491 

Cosmas,  the  foster  brother  of  John  of  Damascus, 
and  his  close  companion  in  literary  labors,  composed 
noted  canons  on  the  Nativity,  the  Epiphany,  and  the 
Transfiguration.  We  quote  a  couple  of  stanzas  from 
the  last: — 

In  days  of  old  on  Sinai 
The  Lord  Jehovah  came, 
In  majesty  of  terror, 
In  thunder-cloud  and  flame: 
On  Tabor,  with  the  glory 
Of  sunniest  light  for  vest, 
The  excellence  of  beauty 
In  Jesus  was  expressed. 

All  hours  and  days  inclined  there, 
And  did  Thee  worship  meet; 
The  sun  himself  adored  Thee, 
And  bowed  him  at  thy  feet; 
While  Moses  and  Elias 
Upon  the  holy  mount 
The  co-eternal  glory 
Of  Christ  our  God  recount. 

Among  the  productions  of  Theodore  of  the  Studium 
is  a  judgment  hymn,  not  equal,  to  be  sure,  to  the  in- 
comparable "  Dies  Irae "  of  the  Latin  Church,  but 
showing  not  a  little  of  the  strength  and  solemnity  of 
tone  befitting  the  theme.  The  following  is  a  part  of 
the  first  ode  :  — 

That  fearful  day,  that  day  of  speechless  dread, 

When  Thou  shalt  come  to  judge  the  quick  and  dead, — 

I  shudder  to  foresee, 

O  God!  what  then  shall  be  I 


492  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

When  Thou  shalt  come,  angelic  legions  round 
With  thousand  thousands,  and  with  trumpet  sound, 

Christ,  grant  me  in  the  air 

With  saints  to  meet  Thee  there. 

Weep,  O  my  soul,  ere  that  great  hour  and  day, 
When  God  shall  shine  in  manifest  array, 

Thy  sin,  that  thou  may'st  be 

In  that  strict  judgment  free. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  third  era,  the  most  proHfie 
writer  of  hymns  was  Joseph,  surnamed  Hymnographus, 
the  contemporary  and  friend  of  the  distinguished  Pho- 
tius.  Though  enjoying  great  popularity  in  the  Greek 
Church,  his  labored  effusions,  with  their  burden  of  ver- 
biage and  bombast,  have  little  that  is  worthy  of  interest 
or  attention. 


2.  Latin  Hymns,  —  Distinguished  service  was  ren- 
dered to  Latin  hymnology  at  the  end  of  the  sixth  and 
the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century  by  the  Roman 
Bishop  Gregory  the  Great,  and  by  Venantius  Fortuna- 
tus.  Bishop  of  Poitiers  at  the  time  of  his  death.  In  the 
matter  of  composing  hymns  the  contribution  of  Greg- 
ory may  not  have  been  of  special  note ;  his  contem- 
porary was  much  more  eminent  in  this  respect.  Still, 
Gregory  rendered  a  very  important  service  to  the  cause 
of  sacred  song,  in  that  he  gave  an  improved  organiza- 
tion to  the  church  music.  Among  the  numerous  pro- 
ductions of  Fortunatus,  two  of  his  passion  hymns  have 
elicited  special  attention,  and  from  these  the  following 
extracts  have  been  taken. 


MEDIEVAL   HYMNS.  493 

Vexilla  regis  prodeunt,i 
Fulget  crucis  mysterium, 
Suo  came  carnis  conditor 
Suspensus  est  patibulo. 

Arbor  decora  et  fulgida 
Ornata  regis  purpura, 
Electa  digno  stipite 
Tarn  sancta  membra  tangere. 

Beata,  cujus  brachiis 
Pretium  pependit  saeculi, 
Statera  facta  corporis 
Praedam  tulitque  tartarL 


Pange  lingua  gloriosi  ^ 
Praelium  certaminis, 
Et  super  crucis  troph^eo 
Die  triumphum  nobilem, 
Qualiter  redemptor  orbis 
Immolatus  vicerit. 


1  The  royal  banners  forward  go : 
The  cross  shines  forth  with  mystic  glow 
Where  He  in  flesh,  our  flesh  who  made, 
Our  sentence  bore,  our  ransom  paid. 

O  tree  of  beauty !  tree  of  light ! 
0  tree  with  royal  purple  dight! 
Elect  upon  whose  faithful  breast 
Those  holy  limbs  should  find  their  rest ! 

On  whose  dear  arms,  so  widely  flung. 
The  weight  of  this  world's  ransom  hung. 
The  price  of  human  kind  to  pay. 
And  spoil  the  spoiler  of  his  prey ! 

2  Sing,  my  tongue,  the  glorious  battle,  with  completed  victory  rife, 
And  above  the  cross's  trophy,  tell  the  triumph  of  the  strife ; 
How  the  world's  Redeemer  conquered,  by  surrendering  of  his  life. 


494  THE  MEDIJEVAL   CHURCH. 

Hie  acetum,  fel,  arundo 
Sputa,  clavi,  lancea 
Mite  corpus  perforatur, 
Sanguis  unda  profluit, 
Terra,  pontus,  astra,  mundus 
Quo  lavantur  flumine. 

Crux  fidelis,  inter  omnea 
Arbor  una  nobilis, 
Nulla  talem  sylva  profert 
Fronde,  flore,  germine, 
Dulce  lignum,  dulces  clavos, 
Dulce  pondus  sustinens. 

Flecte  ramos,  arbor  alta, 
Tensa  laxa  viscera, 
Et  rigor  lentescat  ille, 
Quern  dedit  nativitas, 
Ut  superni  membra  regis 
Miti  tendas  stipite. 

Sola  digna  tu  fuisti 
Ferre  pretium  sseculi, 
Atque  portum  prseparare 
Nauta  mundo  naufrago, 


He  endured  the  shame  and  spitting,  vinegar,  and  nails,  and  reed ; 
As  His  blessed  side  is  opened,  water  thence  and  blood  proceed : 
Earth,  and  sk)-,  and  stars,  and  ocean,  b}'  that  flood  are  cleansed  indeed. 

Faithful  cross !  above  all  other,  one  and  only  noble  tree ! 

None  in  foliage,  none  in  blossom,  none  in  fruit,  thy  peers  may  be ; 

Sweetest  wood  and  sweetest  iron,  sweetest  weight  is  hung  on  thee ! 

Bend  thy  boughs,  0  tree  of  glory !  thy  relaxing  sinews  bend ; 
For  a  while  the  ancient  rigor,  that  thy  birth  bestowed,  suspend; 
And  the  King  of  heavenly  beauty  on  thy  bosom  gently  tend. 

Thou  alone  wast  counted  worthy  this  world's  ransom  to  uphold; 
For  a  shipwrecked  race  preparing  harbor,  like  the  ark  of  old : 
"With  the  sacred  blood  anointed  from  the  wounded  Lamb  that  rolled. 


MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  495 

Quern  sacer  cruor  perunxit, 
Fusiis  agni  coi'iJore. 

The  noblest  hymn  in  the  three  centuries  following 
the  era  of  Fortunatus  was  the  Vent,  Creator  Spiritus, 
It  has  been  variously  attributed  to  Gregory  the  Great, 
to  Charlemagne,  and  to  Rabanus  Maurus.  The  last 
mentioned  seems  to  have  the  superior  claim.  We  give 
it  in  full :  — 

Veni,  Creator  Spiritus, 
Mentes  tuorum  visita. 
Imple  superna  gratia 
Quae  tu  creasti  pectora. 

Qui  Paracletus  diceris, 
Donum  Dei  altissimi, 
Fons  vivus,  ignis,  charitas, 
Et  spiritalis  unctio. 

Tu  septiformis  munere, 
Dextr?e  Dei  tu  digitus, 
Tu  rite  Promissum  Patris, 
Sermone  ditans  guttura. 

Accende  lumen  sensibus, 
Infunde  amorem  cordibus; 
Infirma  nostri  corporis, 
Virtute  firmans  perpetim. 

Hostem  repellas  longius, 
Pacemque  dones  protinus. 
Ductore  sic  te  prasvio, 
Vitemus  omne  noxium. 

[Da  gaudiorum  praemia, 
Da  gratiarum  munera, 
Dissolve  litis  vincula, 
Astringe  pacis  foedera.] 


496  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

Per  te  sciamus  da,  Patrem, 
Noscamus  atque  Filium, 
Te  utriusque  Spiritum, 
Credamus  omni  tempore. 

Another  hymn  of  peculiar  merit,  in  celebration  of  the 
offices  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  was  produced  in  the  middle 
ages.  It  has  commonly  been  associated  with  King 
Robert  of  France  (970-1030). 

Veni,  Sancte  Spiritus, 
Et  emitte  coelitus 

Lucis  tuse  radium. 
Veni,  Pater  pauperum, 
Veni,  dator  munerum, 

Veni,  lumen  cordium. 

Consolator  optime, 
Dulcis  hospes  animse, 

Dulce  refrigerium: 
In  labore  requies. 
In  sestu  temperies, 

In  fletu  solatium. 

O  lux  beatissima, 
Reple  cordis  intima, 

Tuorum  fidelium. 
Sine  tuo  numine 
Nihil  est  in  homine, 

Nihil  est  innoxium. 

Lava  quod  est  sordidum, 
Riga  quod  est  aridum, 

Sana  quod  est  saucium. 
Flecte  quod  est  rigidum, 
Fove  quod  est  languidum, 

Rege  quod  est  devium. 


MEDIAEVAL   HYMNS.  497 

Da  tuis  fidelibus, 
In  te  confitentibus, 

Sacrum  septeiiarium; 
Da  virtutis  meritum, 
Da  salutis  exitum, 

Da  perenne  gaudium. 

Notker,  a  monk  of  St.  Gall,  who  lived  in  the  interval 
between  Charlemagne  and  King  Robert,  has  the  dis- 
tinction of  introducing  sequences,  a  hymn  in  rhythmical 
prose,  quite  similar  to  the  ode  of  the  Eastern  Church. 

Among  the  hymn-writers  of  the  eleventh  century 
mention  may  be  made  of  Fulbert  of  Chartres,  and  the 
Cardinal  Damiani,  the  friend  of  Hildebrand.  Damiani 
is  supposed  to  have  been  the  author  of  the  hymn  on  the 
Glory  and  Joys  of  Paradise,  though  it  has  sometimes 
been  attributed  to  Augustine.  We  select  a  few  stanzas 
from  the  midst  of  its  description  of  the  celestial  country. 

Virent  prata,  vernant  sata,  rivi  mellis  influunt ; 
Pigmentorum  spirat  odor,  liquor  et  aromatum ; 
Pendent  poma  floridorum  non  lapsura  nemorum. 

Non  alternat  luna  vices,  sol,  vel  cursus  siderum ; 
Agnus  est  felicis  urbis  lumen  inocciduum, 
Nox  et  tempus  desunt  ei,  diem  fert  continuum. 

Nam  et  sancti  quique  velut  sol  prseclarus  rutilant. 
Post  triumphura  coronati  mutue  con  jubilant, 
Et  prostrati  pugnas  hostis  jam  securi  numerant. 

Hildebert,  who  became  Archbishop  of  Tours  in  1125, 
wrote  extensively  :  indeed,  he  is  credited  with  no  less 
than  ten  thousand  verses.  We  quote  the  very  animated 
description  of  heaven  which  forms  the  concluding  part 
of  his  Oratio  Devotissima  ad  Tres  Personas  SS.  Trinitatis. 

32 


498  THE  MEDIEVAL  CHURCH. 

Me  receptet  Syon  ilia, 
Syon,  David  urbs  tranquilla, 
Cujus  I'aber  Auctor  lucis, 
Cujus  portse  liguum  crucis, 
Cujus  muri  lapis  vivus, 
Cujus  custos  Rex  festivus. 
In  hac  urbe  lux  solennis, 
Ver  seternura,  pax  perennis  ; 
In  hac  odor  implens  coelos, 
In  hac  semper  festum  melos ; 
Non  est  ibi  corruptela, 
Non  defectus,  non  querela  ; 
Non  minuti,  non  deformes, 
Omnes  Christo  sunt  conformes. 
Urbs  coelestis,  urbs  beata, 
Super  petram  collocata, 
Urbs  in  portu  satis  tuto, 
De  louginquo  te  salute, 
Te  saluto,  te  suspiro, 
Te  affecto,  te  require. 
Quantum  tui  gratulantur, 
Quam  festive  convivantur, 
Quis  affectus  ees  stringat, 
Aut  quae  gemma  muros  pingat, 
Quis  chalcedon,  quis  jacinthus, 
Novunt  illi  qui  sunt  intus. 
In  plateis  hujus  urbis, 
Sociatus  piis  turbis, 
Cum  Moyse  et  Elia, 
Plum  cantem  Alleluya. 

Amen. 

Among  the  hymnists  of  the  twelfth  century  an  illus- 
trious place  belongs  to  Bernard  of  Clairvaux.  Indeed, 
in  certain  respects  he  was  unsurpassed  by  any  in  the 
whole  list  of  mediaeval  writers.  No  one  of  them  ex- 
celled  him  in  the  expression  of  impassioned  love  for 


MEDIEVAL  HYMNS.  499 

Christ.  No  one  of  them  equalled  hun  as  respects  ap- 
preciation for  the  inner  Christ,  Christ  dwelling  in  the 
heart  of  the  believer  as  his  deep  joy  and  complete  satis- 
faction. Protestant  hymn-books  very  generally  have 
been  enriched  by  extracts  from  the  hymn  in  which  this 
feature  is  especially  prominent,  the  Jesii,  Duleu  Memorla^ 
a  poem  of  about  two  hundred  lines.  We  need  therefore 
to  quote  only  a  few  stanzas  to  indicate  the  character  of 
the  Latin  verse  :  — 


Jesu,  dulcis  memoria, 
Dans  vera  cordi  gaudia, 
Sed  super  mel  et  omnia 
Ejus  dulcis  praesentia. 

Nil  canitur  suavius, 
Nil  auditur  jocundius, 
]Nil  cogitatur  dulcius 
Quam  Jesus  dei  filius. 


Jesu,  spes  poenitentibus, 
Quam  pius  es  petentibus, 
Quam  bonus  es  qujBrentibus, 
Sed  quid  invenientibus. 

Jesus,  dulcedo  cordium, 
Fons  vivus,  lumen  mentium, 
Excedens  omne  gaudium 
Et  omne  desiderium. 

Nee  lingua  potest  dicere, 
Nee  litera  exprimere, 
Expertus  potest  credere 
Quid  sit  Jesum  diligere. 


500  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

A  passion  hymn  of  Bernard  deserves  mention  as  be- 
ing the  model  which  suggested  the  noble  composition  of 
Paul  Gerhard,  as  well  as  for  the  depth  of  feeling  by 
which  it  is  itself  penetrated.     It  has  this  stanza  :  — 

Salve,  caput  cruentatum, 
Totum  spinis  coronatum, 
Conquassatum,  vulneratum, 
Arundine  verberatum, 
Facie  sputis  illita. 
Salve,  cujus  dulcis  vultus, 
Immutatus  et  incultus, 
Immutavit  suum  florem, 
Totus  versus  in  pallorem, 
Quern  coeli  tremit  curia. 

Another  Bernard,  a  monk  of  Cluny,  who  lived  at  the 
same  time  as  the  mighty  Abbot  of  Clairvaux,  is  known 
from  his  Laus  Patrice  Coelestis,  an  enraptured  descrip- 
tion of  heaven.  The  English  version  of  such  lines  as 
the  following  has  been  made  familiar  by  frequent  use  in 
public  worship:  — 

O  bona  patria,  lutuina  sobria  te  speculantur, 
Ad  tua  nomina  sobria  lumiiia  collacrimantur: 
Est  tua  mentio  pectoris  unctio,  cura  doloris, 
Concipientibus  aethera  mentibus  ignis  amoris. 

Urbs  Syon  aurea,  patria  lactea,  cive  decora, 
Omne  cor  obruis,  omnibus  obstruis  et  cor  et  ora. 
Nescio,  nescio,  quae  jubilatio,  lux  tibi  qualis, 
Quam  socialia  gaudia,  gloria  quam  specialis : 
Laude  studens  ea  toUere,  mens  mea  victa  f atiscit : 
O  bona  gloria,  vincor ;  in  omnia  laus  tua  vicit. 


I 


MEDIAEVAL  HYMNS.  501 

In  the  twelfth  century  we  have  also  the  distinguished 
name  of  Adam  of  St.  Victor.  Trench  assigns  him  a  very 
high  place,  is  indeed  inclined  to  regard  him  as  the  great- 
est of  the  Latin  hymnologists  of  the  middle  ages.  He 
was  undoubtedly  a  writer  of  no  inconsiderable  genius. 
This  appears  in  the  very  subtle  art  with  which  he  wove 
into  his  productions  Biblical  types  and  theological  dis- 
tinctions, as  well  as  in  his  graceful  management  of  his 
verse.  But,  as  might  be  expected,  this  subtlety  is  better 
suited  to  please  and  to  stimulate  the  mind  than  to  melt 
or  to  kindle  the  heart.  For  purposes  of  devotion  the 
poetry  of  Adam  of  St.  Victor  cannot  well  be  assigned  a 
foremost  place.  The  following  stanzas,  selected  some- 
what at  random,  may  serve  to  illustrate  the  peculiar 
traits  of  this  author  :  — 


Verbi  vere  substantivi, 
Caro  cum  sit  in  declivi 
Temporis  angustia, 
In  seternis  verbum  annis 
Permanere  nos  Johannis 
Docet  theologia. 

Dum  magistri  super  pectus 
Fontem  haurit  intellectus, 
Et  doctrinae  flumina, 
Fiunt,  ipso  situ  loci, 
Verbo  fides,  auris  voci, 
Mens  Deo  contermina. 

Unde  mentis  per  excessus, 
Carnis,  sensus  super  gressus, 
Errorumque  nubila, 
Contra  veri  solis  lumen 


502  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

Visum  cordis  et  acumen 
Figit  velut  aquila.^ 

Yerbum  quod  non  potest  dici. 
Quod  virtute  creatrici 
Cud  eta  fecit  valde  bona, 
Iste  dicit  ab  seterui 
Patris  nexu  non  secerni 
Nisi  tantum  in  persona. 


Potestate,  non  natura 
Fit  Creator  creatura, 
Reportetur  ut  factura 
Factoris  in  gloria. 
Prsedicatus  per  prophetas, 
Quern  non  capit  locus,  setas, 
Nostr£e  sortis  intrat  metas, 
Non  relinquens  propria. 


Tria  dona  reges  ferunt: 
Stella  duce  regem  quaerunt, 
Per  quam  certi  semper  erunt 
De  superno  lumine. 

Auro  regem  venerantes, 
Ture  deum  designantes, 
Myrrha  mortem  memorantes, 
Sacro  docti  Flamine. 

1  Another  stanza,  so  much  in  the  spirit  of  this  that  one  is  naturally 
inclined  to  assign  it  to  the  school  of  Adam  of  St.  Victor,  may  fitly  be 
quoted  here  as  an  almost  ideal  characterization  of  the  Apostle  who  was 
at  once  Evangelist  and  Revelator :  — 

Volat  avis  sine  meta 

Quo  nee  vates  nee  propheta, 

Evolavit  altius : 

Tarn  implenda,  quara  impleta, 

Nunquam  vidit  tot  seereta 

Purus  homo  purius. 


MEDIJiVAL  HYMNS.  603 

Ecce  dies  Celebris ! 
Lux  succedit  tenebris, 
Morti  resurrectio. 
Laetis  cedaut  tristia, 
Cum  sit  major  gloria, 
Quam  prima  coiifusio. 
Umbram  fugat  Veritas, 
Vetustatem  novitas, 
Luctum  consolatio. 

Pascha  novum  oolite ; 
Quod  prseit  in  capite, 
Membra  sperent  singula; 
Pascha  novum  Christus  est, 
Qui  pro  nobis  passus  est, 
Agnus  sine  macula. 

Hostis,  qui  nos  circuit, 
Prsedam  Christus  eruit; 
Quod  Samson  prsecinuit, 
Dum  leonem  lacerat. 
David  fortis  viribus 
A  leonis  unguibus, 
Et  ab  ursi  faucibus, 
Gregem  Patris  liberat. 

As  a  specimen  of  scholastic  dogma  in  verse,  we  give 
a  part  of  the  hymn  of  Thomas  Aquinas,  the  great  theo- 
logian of  the  thirteenth  century,  on  the  body  of  Christ 
in  the  eucharist :  — 

Dogma  datur  Christianis, 
Quod  in  earn  em  transit  panis 
Et  vinum  in  sanguinem. 
Quod  non  capis,  quod  non  vides, 
Animosa  firmat  fides, 
Prseter  rerum  ordinem. 


504  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH, 

Sub  diversis  speciebus, 
Signis  tamen  et  non  rebus 
Latent  res  eximise: 
Caro  cibus,  sanguis  potus : 
Manet  tamen  Christus  totus 
Sub  utraque  specie. 

A  sumente  non  concisus, 
Non  confractus,  non  divisus, 
Integer  accipitur. 
Sumit  unus,  sumunt  inille, 
Quantum  isti,  tantum  ille, 
Nee  sumptus  consumitur. 

Sumunt  boni,  sumunt  mali, 
Sorte  tamen  insequali 
Vitae  vel  interitus : 
Mors  est  malis,  vita  bonis, 
Vide,  paris  sumptionis 
Quam  sit  dispar  exitus. 

Bonaventura  was  the  author  of  several  very  worthy 
passion  hymns.  Among  these  the  following  may  per- 
haps be  accounted  the  best.  We  copy  four  out  of  fif- 
teen stanzas  :  — 

Recordare  sanctse  crucis, 
Qui  perfectam  viam  ducis, 
Delectare  jugiter. 
Sanctse  crucis  recordare 
Et  in  ipsa  meditare 
Insatiabiliter. 

Quum  quiescis  aut  laboras, 
Quando  rides,  quando  ploras. 
Doles  sive  gaudeas, 
Quando  vadis,  quando  venis, 
In  solatiis,  in  pcEnis 
Crucera  corde  teneas. 


MEDIAEVAL   HYMNS.  505 

Crux  in  omnibus  pressuria 
Et  in  gravibus  et  duris 
Est  totum  remedium. 
Crux  in  poenis  et  tormentis 
Est  dulcedo  pia3  mentis 
Et  varum  refugium. 

Crux  est  porta  Paradisi, 
In  qua  sancti  sunt  confisi, 
Qui  vicerunt  omnia. 
Crux  est  mundi  medicina, 
Per  quam  bonitas  divina 
Facit  mirabilia. 

In  the  century  of  Thomas  Aquinas  and  Bonaventura 
lived  James  de  Benedictis  (or  Jacopoue,  as  he  is  called) 
the  author  of  a  hymn  descriptive  of  the  sorrow  of  the 
Virgin,  which  must  be  pronounced  very  tender  and 
beautiful,  though  it  is  not  wholly  free  from  the  taint 
of  Mariolatry. 

Stabat  mater  dolorosa 
Juxta  crucem  lacrimosa, 
Dum  pendebat  filius, 
Cujus  an  imam  gementera 
Contristantem  et  dolentem 
Pertransivit  gladius. 

O  quam  tristis  et  afflicta 
Fuit  ilia  benedicta 
Mater  unigeniti! 
Quam  moerebat  et  dolebat 
Et  tremebat,  cum  videbat 
Nati  poenas  inclyti  I 

To  the  thirteenth  century  also  belonged  the  disciple 
of  St.  Francis,  Thomas  of  Celano,  the  probable  author 
of  that  crowning  specimen  of  mediaeval  hymnology,  the 


506  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 

great  judgment  hymn,  the  Dies  Irce.  Respecting  the 
excellences  of  this  hymn,  Trench  says :  ''  The  meter 
so  grandly  devised,  the  solemn  effect  of  the  triple 
rhyme,  which  has  been  likened  to  blow  following  blow 
of  the  hammer  on  the  anvil,  the  confidence  of  the  poet 
in  the  universal  interest  of  his  theme,  a  confidence 
which  has  made  him  set  out  his  matter  with  so  majestic 
and  unadorned  a  plainness  as  at  once  to  be  intelligible 
to  all,  —  these  merits,  with  many  more,  have  given 
the  Dies  Iroe  a  foremost  place  among  the  masterpieces 
of  sacred  song." 

Dies  ir£e,  dies  ilia  i 
Solvet  saeclum  in  favilla, 
Teste  David  cum  Sibylla. 

Quantus  tremor  est  futurus, 
Quando  Judex  est  venturus, 
Cuncta  striate  discussurus. 

Tuba,  mirum  spargens  sonum 
Per  sepulchra  regionum, 
Coget  omnes  ante  thronum. 

1  It  will  be  observed  that  the  translation  of  INIr.  Irons,  which  is 
subjoined,  substitutes  for  the  third  line  the  amended  reading,  Crucis 
expandens  vexilla :  — 

Da}'  of  wrath !  0  day  of  mourning ! 
See  !  once  more  the  cross  returning,  — 
Heaven  and  earth  in  ashes  burning! 

0  what  fear  man's  bosom  rendeth, 
When  from  heaven  the  Judge  descendeth, 
On  whose  sentence  all  dependeth ! 

Wondrous  sound  the  trumpet  flingeth, 
Through  earth's  sepulchres  it  ringeth, 
All  before  the  throne  il  bringeth. 


MEDl/EVAL   HYMNS.  607 

Mors  stupebit  et  iiatura, 
Qimra  resurget  creatura, 
Judicanti  respoiisura. 

Liber  scriptus  proferetur, 
In  quo  totum  continetur, 
De  quo  muudus  judicetur. 

Judex  ergo  quum  sedebit, 
Quidquid  latet,  apparebit, 
Nil  inultum  remanebit. 

Quid  sum  miser  turn  dicturus, 
Quern  patron  um  rogaturus, 
Quum  vix  Justus  sit  securus  ? 

Rex  tremendse  majestatis, 
Qui  salvandos  salvas  gratis, 
Salva  me,  f ons  pietatis  ! 


Death  is  struck  and  nature  quaking,  - 

All  creation  is  awaking, 

To  its  Judge  an  answer  making ! 

Lo  the  book,  exactly  worded ! 
Wherein  all  hath  been  recorded :  — 
Hence  shall  judgment  be  awarded. 

When  the  Judge  his  seat  attaineth, 
And  each  hidden  deed  arraigneth, 
Nothing  unavenged  remaineth. 

What  shall  I,  frail  man,  be  pleading, 
Who  for  me  be  interceding, 
When  the  just  are  mercy  needing  ? 

King  of  majest)'  tremendous, 
Who  dost  free  salvation  send  us,  ■ 
Fount  of  pity  1  then  befriend  us ! 


508  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH, 

Recordare,  Jesu  pie, 
Quod  sum  causa  tuse  vise ; 
Ne  me  perdas  ilia  die  I 

Quserens  me  sedisti  lassus, 
Redemisti  crucem  passus: 
Tantus  labor  non  sit  cassus 

Juste  Judex  ultionis, 
Donum  fac  remissiouis 
Ante  diem  rationis ! 

Ingemisco  tanquam  reus, 
Culpa  rubet  vultus  meus  : 
Supplicanti  parce,  Deus  I 

Qui  Mariam  absolvisti, 
Et  latronem  exaudisti, 
Mihi  quoque  spem  dedisti. 


Think,  kind  Jesu!  my  salvation 
Caused  Thy  wondrous  incarnation : 
Leave  me  not  to  reprobation ! 

Faint  and  weary  Thou  hast  sought  me, 
On  the  cro«s  of  suffering  bought  me;  — 
Shall  such  grace  be  vainly  brought  me  ? 

Righteous  Judge  of  Retribution, 

Grant  Thy  gift  of  absolution 

Ere  that  reckoning-day's  conclusion  ; 

Guilty,  now  I  pour  my  moaning, 
All  my  shame  and  anguish  owning; 
Spare,  0  God,  Thy  suppliant,  groaning. 

Thou  the  sinful  woman  savedst, 
Thou  the  dying  thief  forgavest, 
And  to  me  a  hope  vouchsafest. 


MEDIuEVAL  HYMNS.  509 

Preces  meae  non  sunt  dignse, 
Sed  tu  bonus  fac  benigne, 
Ne  perenni  cremer  igne ! 

Inter  oves  locum  praesta, 
Et  ab  haedis  me  sequestra, 
Statueus  in  parte  dextra. 

Confutatis  maledictis, 
Flammis  acribus  addictis, 
Voca  me  cum  benedictis. 

Oro  supplex  et  acclinis, 
Cor  contritum  quasi  cinis: 
Gere  curam  mei  finis. 


"Worthless  are  my  praj-ers  and  sighing, 
Yet,  good  Lord,  in  grace  complying, 
Rescue  me  from  fires  undying ! 

With  Thy  favored  sheep,  0  place  me! 
Nor  among  the  goats  abase  me ; 
But  to  Thy  right  hand  upraise  me. 

While  the  wicked  are  confounded, 
Doomed  to  flames  of  woe  unbounded, 
Call  me,  with  Thy  saints  surrounded ! 

Low  I  kneel,  with  heart-submission; 
See  like  ashes,  my  contrition: 
Help  me  in  my  last  condition ! 

In  some  versions  the  following  is  given  as  the  concluding  stanza :-« 

Lachrymosa  dies  ilia. 
Qua  resurget  ex  favilla 
Judicandus  homo  reus; 
Huic  ergo  parce,  Deus  1 
Pie  Jesu  Domine 
Dona  eos  requie. 


510  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

The  foregoing  specimens  present  the  more  favorable 
side  of  mediseval  hymnology.  They  may  serve  to  in- 
dicate that,  though  Protestantism  can  show  a  larger 
body  of  hymns  in  which  poetic  talent  and  high  religious 
sentiment  have  been  happily  wedded  together,  it  may 
still  consider  with  profit  the  contributions  of  the  Pre- 
Reformation  Church.  But  the  less  favorable  side,  the 
alloy  of  saint- worship,  must  in  justice  to  history  receive 
some  attention.  How  considerable  an  element  this  is 
may  be  readily  discerned  by  consulting  F.  J.  Mone's 
collection  of  Latin  hymns.  Out  of  three  volumes  one 
is  devoted  to  God  and  the  angels,  another  to  the  Virgin, 
and  the  remaining  to  the  saints.  Even  if  allowance  be 
made  for  bias  in  the  collector,  these  proportions  are 
sufficiently  indicative  as  to  the  direction  of  mediseval 
hymnology.  In  truth,  the  hymns  of  that  era  give  un- 
mistakable testimony  to  the  polytheistic  cast  of  the 
worship.  Whatever  distinctions  theologians  may  have 
indulged  between  latreia,  hyperduleia^  and  duleia,^  the 
creature  was  actually  placed  in  the  throne  of  God,  and 
worship  was  divided  between  the  Most  High  and  His 
workmanship.  The  Virgin  in  particular  was  invested 
with  the  functions  of  Deity.  She  was  as  truly  a  god- 
dess in  the  conception  of  a  majority  of  the  people  as 
was  Diana  in  the  view  of  the  Ephesians,  who  clamor- 
ously shouted  her  praises  in  the  days  of  Paul.  Men 
of  as  high  standing  as  Bonaventura  ^  thought  it  proper 
to  celebrate  her  in  terms  which  the  most  ardent  devo- 
tion  is   wont  to   address   to   God.     Not   infrequently 

1  In  the  order  given,  these  terms  were  used  to  indicate  the  worship 
due  to  God,  to  the  Virgin,  and  to  the  saints  respectively. 

2  So  must  one  conclude,  if  it  be  allowed  that  Bonaventura  was  the 
author  of  the  "  Psalter  of  the  Virgin,"  attributed  to  him. 


MEDIAEVAL  HYMNS.  511 

another  sentiment  than  that  of  worship  has  left  its 
impress.  There  are  hymns  in  which  the  strain  of  re- 
ligious adoration  is  mixed  with  such  expressions  as  a 
Troubadour  might  have  employed  in  singing  the  praises 
of  his  lady  love. 

The  following  stanzas  are   taken  from  a  variety  of 
hymns  belonging  to  different  centuries:  — 

Ave,  maris  Stella, 
Dei  Mater  alma 
Atque  semper  Virgo, 
Felix  coeli  porta. 

Solve  vinc'la  reis, 
Profer  lumen  coecis, 
Mala  nostra  pelle, 
Bona  cuncta  posce. 


Ave,  Virgo  gratiosa, 
Virgo  sole  clarior, 
Mater  Dei  gloriosa, 
Favo  mellis  dulcior, 
Tu  es  ilia  speciosa, 
Qua  nulla  est  pulchrior, 
Rubicunda.  plusquam  rosa, 
Lilio  candidior. 


Ave  mundi  spes,  Maria, 
Ave  mitis,  ave  pia, 
Ave  plena  gratia, 
Omnis  boni  copia. 

Angelorum  imperatrix, 
Peccatorum  consolatrix, 


512  THE  MEDIJ^VAL    CHURCH. 

Cousolare  me  lugentem, 
In  peccatis  jam  foetentem. 

Me  habeto  excusatum 
Apud  Christum  tuum  natum, 
Cujus  iram  expavesco 
Et  furorem  coutremisco. 

Nam  peccavi  tibi  soli: 
O  Maria  Virgo,  noli 
Esse  mihi  aliena, 
Gratia  ccelesti  plena. 

Esto  custos  cordis  mei, 
Signa  me  timore  Dei 
Confer  vitae  sanitatem 
Et  da  morum  honestatem. 


O  Maria,  sponsa  dia, 
Quam  cselestis  hierarchia 
Jugi  laudat  symphonia, 
Audi  preces,  mater  pia, 
Tibi  supplicantium. 


O  regina  angelorum 
Atque  mundi  domina, 
Imperatrix  infernorum 
Hera  sublimissima. 
Vera  mater  orphanorum, 
Piarum  piissima. 
Vera  salus  infirmorum, 
Sana  mea  vitia. 

Me  molestum  et  lugentem, 
Pia  mater,  respice, 


I 


\ 


MEDhEVAL  ARCHITECTURE.  513 

Sana  in  te  confidentem, 
Mater  indulgentiae, 
Peccatorem  poenitentem 
Ne  damnes  pro  crimine, 
In  te  figo  meam  mentem, 
Noli  me  reliiiquere. 


Ave  virgo  virginum, 
Ave  lumen  luminum, 
Ave  Stella  praevial 

Mediatrix  hominum 
Ablutrixque  criminum, 
Ave  Virgo  regia! 

Castitatis  lilium, 

Consolatrix  omnium, 
Peccatorum  venia. 


II.  —  ARCHITECTURE. 


The  Romanesque  style,^  which  dominated  the  archi- 
tecture of  the  West  in  the  early  part  of  the  medic^val 
period,  received  some  contributions  from  the  Byzan- 
tine. In  its  general  character,  however,  it  was  a  fur- 
ther development  of  the  Christian  basilica.  It  appears 
as  the  type  which  the  classic  era  had  handed  down, 
worked  over  and  modified  by  the  genius  of  the  Ger- 
manic nations. 

Many  varieties  as  respects  details  appeared  in  the 
architecture  of  different  countries,  or  even  of  the  same 

1  For  our  use  of  terms,  see  the  corresponding  section  in  "The  Early 
Church." 

83 


514  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

country,  within  the  period  assigned  to  the  Romanesque. 
This  makes  it  somewhat  difficult  to  determine  just  what 
should  be  included  in  a  full  list  of  the  cardinal  features 
of  this  style.  Several  characteristics,  however,  are 
clearly  marked.  In  the  use  of  pillars  there  was  much 
greater  freedom  from  the  classic  rule  as  to  proportions 
than  appears  in  the  early  basilicas.  New  phases  of 
ornamentation  were  brought  in  by  the  genius  of  the 
Lombard  sculptors.  The  use  of  the  round  arch  to  a 
profuse  degree  was  a  specially  prominent  feature  of  the 
Romanesque.  "  Its  chief  characteristic,"  says  Milman, 
"  is  delight  in  the  multiplication  of  the  arch,  not  only 
for  the  support,  but  for  the  ornamentation,  of  the  build- 
ing. Within  and  without  there  is  the  same  prodigality 
of  this  form."  ^  The  portals,  under  the  influence  of  the 
strong  preference  for  the  arcuated  form,  often  became 
receding  arches,  arches  within  arches.  The  same  pref- 
erence introduced  vaulted  ceilings  over  the  aisles  and 
the  nave.  In  the  later  Romanesque  such  ceilings  were 
very  common.  Another  feature  was  the  enlarged  area, 
as  compared  with  the  plan  of  the  primitive  basilica, 
which  was  given  to  the  eastern  end  of  the  church,  or 
the  part  beyond  the  meeting  point  of  nave  and  transept. 
This  secured  more  room  to  the  clergy,  and  enabled 
them  to  retreat  farther  from  the  congregation,  —  an 
architectural  development  accordant  with  the  hierarch- 
ical tendencies  of  the  age.  A  feature  which  may,  per- 
haps, be  regarded  as  still  more  characteristic,  was  the 
tower,  at  first  an  adjacent  structure,  but  afterwards  in- 
corporated with  the  main  building.  Many  churches 
had  more  than  one  tower.    In  some  instances  there  were 

1  Latin  Christianity,  book  xiv.  chap.  viii.  ^ 


MEDIEVAL  ARCHITECTURE.  515 

towers  on  the  transepts  and  the  choir,  as  well  as  on 
both  sides  of  the  front.  The  intersection  of  the  cross 
was  surmounted  in  some  cases  by  a  dome,  in  others  by 
cupolas  or  towers  of  varied  patterns,  the  large  square 
form  having  the  preference  in  certain  countries. 

The  Norman,  which  flourished  in  Northern  France 
and  in  England  after  the  Conquest,  is  classed  as  a 
special  branch  of  the  Romanesque.  It  was  charac- 
terized in  general  by  a  plain  and  bold  style  of  orna- 
mentation, strong  pillars,  a  square  central  tower  of 
large  dimensions  rising  to  a  moderate  height,  and  a 
general  impression  of  solidity.  The  apse  was  often 
omitted  in  favor  of  a  rectangular  outline.  Churches  in 
this  style  in  England  were  commonly  distinguished  by 
great  length  as  compared  with  breadth  and  height. 

Of  the  Romanesque  in  general,  it  may  be  said  that  it 
conveys  an  impression  of  strength  and  firmness,  has  a 
settled,  restful  aspect.  Herein  the  style  of  the  edifice 
was  not  out  of  accord  with  its  office.  In  that  age  of 
transition  and  turbulence,  the  church  was  not  merely  a 
place  of  worship ;  it  was  also  a  refuge,  a  stronghold  of 
civilization  and  religion.^ 

One  of  the  most  noteworthy  specimens  of  the  Ro- 
manesque in  France  was  the  abbey  church  of  Cluuy, 
built  between  1089  and  1130,  and  preserved  till  the 
time  of  the  Revolution.  The  body  of  the  church, 
which  had  five  aisles,  was  365  feet  long.  An  extensive 
fore-hall,  with  three  aisles,  carried  the  total  length  up 
to  500  feet.  The  breadth  was  110  feet ;  the  height  of 
the  nave,  100  feet.  The  tendency  to  multiply  the  apse, 
which  appears  in  not  a  few  specimens  of  the  Roman- 
1  Compare  F.  Kugler,  Geschichte  der  Baukunst. 


516  THE  MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

esque,  was  here  carried  to  a  maximum ;  no  less  than 
fifteen  apses  adorned  the  choir  and  the  arms  of  the 
cross.  Seven  towers  entered  into  the  ornamentation 
of  the  exterior.  In  Germany,  among  noted  examples 
of  this  style  were  the  Apostles'  church  and  St.  Mar- 
tin's in  Cologne,  and  the  cathedrals  of  Spires,  Worms, 
and  Bonn.  Among  the  Romanesque  or  Norman 
churches  of  England,  those  at  St.  Albans,  Ely,  Peter- 
borough, Winchester,  Norwich,  and  Durham  held  a 
celebrated  place. 

The  Gothic  as  a  distinct  style  appeared  in  Northern 
France  about  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century,  quickly 
crossed  into  England,  then  came  to  Germany,  and  near 
the  same  time  began  to  be  introduced  into  Spain  and 
Italy.  By  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  it  had 
reached  its  highest  bloom.  In  Italy,  where  it  was  never 
very  fully  naturalized,  a  decided  reaction  against  it 
arose  before  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century.  In 
most  other  European  countries  it  continued  to  be  cul- 
tivated, to  a  considerable  extent,  well  into  the  sixteenth 
century. 

The  crowning  era  of  the  Gothic  style  may  be  re- 
garded, both  in  the  extent  and  character  of  its  pro- 
ductions, as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  epochs,  perhaps 
the  most  brilliant,  in  the  whole  history  of  architecture. 
"  Not  even  the  great  Pharaonic  age  in  Egypt,  the  age  of 
Pericles  in  Greece,  nor  the  great  period  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  will  bear  comparison  with  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury in  Europe,  whether  we  look  to  the  extent  of  the 
buildings  executed,  their  wonderful  variety  and  con- 
structive   elegance,    the   daring    imagination  that    con- 


MEDL^VAL   ARCHITECTURE.  517 

ceived  them,  or  the  power  of  poetry  and  lofty  religious 
feelings  that  is  expressed  in  every  feature  and  every 
part  of  them."  ^ 

Though  having  its  starting  point  in  the  later  Ro- 
manesque, especially  in  those  specimens  of  it  which 
contained  vaulted  ceilings,  the  Gothic  was  still  a  truly 
distinct  style.  Its  general  tone  appears  in  strong  con 
trast  with  that  of  its  predecessor.  The  Romanesque 
building  stood  firmly  upon  the  earth,  had  an  aspect  of 
strength,  solidity,  and  rest.  The  Gothic  seemed  to 
mount  upward.  The  one  invited  to  a  refuge,  an  earthly 
stronghold.  The  other  summoned  men  to  forget  the 
earth  in  the  eager  flight  of  thought  and  aspiration  to- 
ward heaven.  Its  effort,  as  described  by  Liibke,  was 
to  overcome  the  horizontal,  to  spiritualize  the  material, 
to  construct  an  edifice  which  should  seem  to  spring 
miraculously  toward  the  sky. 

In  realizing  this  character  the  pointed  arch  performed 
a  conspicuous  service.  This  was  not  altogether  a  new 
invention.  It  was  not  unknown  to  some  of  the  ancient 
nations,  and  had  been  used  to  a  considerable  extent  in 
Saracenic  architecture.  But  in  the  Gothic  it  received 
a  new  significance.  Here  it  was  no  longer  a  mere 
ornament,  an  adjunct,  or  a  means  of  variety  ^  it  was 
rather  a  most  suitable  means  of  carrying  out  the  essen- 
tial idea  of  the  building. 

The  importance  of  the  pointed  arch  should  not  cause 
the  fact  to  be  overlooked,  that  it  was  only  one  in  a 
group  of  features  which  entered  into  the  Gothic  style. 
The  reduction  of  the  points  of  support  to  tlie  smallest 
practicable  area,  the  substitution  in  large  measure  of 

^  Fergusson,  part  ii.  book  ii.  chap.  ix. 


518  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

glass  windows  for  solid  walls,  the  continuing  of  shafts 
in  the  mouldings  of  arches,  the  prolongation  of  vertical 
lines  in  towers  and  in  buttresses,  which  frequently 
rose  above  the  line  of  parapets  and  ended  in  pinnacles, — 
all  these,  as  well  as  the  pointed  arch,  were  elements  of 
the  Gothic  ideal. 

A  ver}^  important  factor  in  the  production  of  the 
interior  effect  were  the  windows,  with  their  infinitely 
varied  patterns  and  their  rich  colors,  by  which  the  un- 
distinguished glare  of  the  day  outside  was  turned  into 
a  scene  of  variegated  beaut}^,  and  made  to  cast  a  mellow 
radiance  through  the  lofty  aisles.  In  fine,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  imagine  anything  so  serviceable  in  beautify- 
ing the  interior  as  the  windows  of  colored  glass  which 
were  common  from  the  beginning  of  the  Gothic  era. 
"  The  painted  slabs  of  the  Assyrian  palaces,"  says  Fer- 
gusson,  "  are  comparatively  poor  attempts  at  the  same 
effect.  The  hieroglyphics  of  the  Egyptians  were  far 
less  splendid  and  complete ;  nor  can  the  painted  tem- 
ples of  the  Greeks,  nor  the  mosaics  and  frescos  of  the 
Italian  churches,  be  compared  with  the  brilliant  effect 
and  party-colored  glories  of  a  perfect  Gothic  cathedral, 
where  the  whole  history  of  the  Bible  was  written  in 
the  hues  of  the  rainbow  by  the  earnest  hand  of 
faith."! 

Among  the  more  astonishing  features  of  the  great 
Gothic  cathedrals  is  the  amount  of  sculpture  embodied 
in  them,  by  which  the  exterior  was  made  to  appear 
scarcely  less  ornamented  than  the  interior.  In  some 
instances  sacred  history  and  religious  conception  were 
wellnigh  exhausted  for  subjects  ;  and  besides,  a  liberal 

1  Part  ii.  book  ii.  chap.  viii. 


MEDIEVAL  ARCHITECTURE.  519 

draft  was  made  upon  the  field  of  natural  and  secular 
history.  "  Thus  the  great  cathedrals  of  Chartres  and 
Rheims  even  now  retain  some  five  thousand  figures,  scat- 
tered about  or  grouped  together  in  various  parts,  begin- 
ning with  the  history  of  the  creation  of  the  world  and 
all  the  wondrous  incidents  of  the  first  cliapter  of  Genesis, 
and  thence  continuing  the  history  through  the  whole  of 
the  Old  Testament.  In  these  sculptures  the  story  of 
redemption  is  told,  as  set  forth  in  the  New  Testament, 
with  a  distinctness,  and  at  the  same  time  with  an  ear- 
nestness, almost  impossible  to  surpass.  On  the  other 
hand,  ranges  of  statues  of  kings  of  France  and  other 
popular  potentates  carry  on  the  thread  of  profane  his- 
tory to  the  period  of  the  erection  of  the  cathedral  itself. 
In  addition  to  these,  we  have,  interspersed  with  them,  a 
whole  system  of  moral  philosophy,  as  illustrated  by  the 
virtues  and  the  vices,  each  represented  by  an  appro- 
priate symbol,  and  the  reward  or  punishment  its  invari- 
able accompaniment.  In  other  parts  are  shown  all  the 
arts  of  peace,  every  process  of  husbandry  in  its  appro- 
priate season,  and  each  manufacture  or  handicraft  in  all 
its  principal  forms.  Over  all  these  are  seen  the  heavenly 
hosts,  with  saints,  angels,  and  archangels.  In  the  mid- 
dle ages,  when  books  were  rare,  and  those  who  could 
read  them  rarer  still,  this  sculpture  was  certainly  most 
valuable  as  a  means  of  popular  education."  ^ 

Among  the  earlier  specimens  of  the  French  Gothic 
that  of  Amiens,  along  with  the  two  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  paragraph,  ranks  as  the  most  noble.  Among 
the  later  specimens  the  abbey  church  of  St.  Ouen,  at 
Rouen,  bears  the  palm  for  beauty.  An  English  histo- 
1  Fergusson,  part  ii.  book  ii.  chap.  ix. 


520  THE  MEDIMVAL    CHURCH. 

rian  has  not  hesitated  to  say  that  it  "  may  claim  the  first 
place  among  all  the  edifices  that  human  skill  has  ever 
reared. "1  The  glory  of  the  German  Gothic  is  the  cathe- 
dral of  Cologne,  erected  at  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  and 
the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century.  In  poetic  ef- 
fect it  hardly  equals  some  other  churches,  but  in  gran- 
deur of  conception  and  nicety  of  execution  it  has  few 
rivals.  It  has  been  pronounced  the  most  perfect  piece 
of  masonry  which  was  produced  in  the  middle  ages. 
After  the  Cologne  cathedral  a  place  of  high  interest  be- 
longs to  the  cathedral  of  Strasburg,  the  church  at  Frei- 
burg, and  St.  Stephen's  of  Vienna.  Among  the  Gothic 
churches  of  England,  Westminster  Abbey,  as  it  is  the 
richest  in  historical  association,  may  also  be  pronounced 
the  noblest  in  general  architectural  effect.  But  there 
are  others  which  are  not  far  from  the  place  of  rivals. 
Some  of  the  old  Norman  churches,  which  were  recon- 
structed to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  the  Gothic  era, 
present  very  noble  specimens  of  this  style.  The  York 
Minster  and  the  cathedrals  of  Ely  and  Winchester  are 
distinguished  examples.  Italian  Gothic  is  represented 
in  particular  by  the  cathedrals  of  Siena  and  Milan. 
The  latter,  though  not  a  model  as  respects  distinctive 
Gothic  features,  and  perhaps  also  failing  somewhat  in 
religious  impression,  is  a  structure  of  marvellous  rich- 
ness and  beauty.  In  Spain  the  most  celebrated  monu- 
ments of  this  style  were  erected  at  Toledo,  Burgos,  and 
Seville. 

In  respect  of  size,  the  cathedral  of  Seville  ranks  first 
among  all  the  mediaeval  churches  (St.  Peter's  being  ex- 
cluded from  this  category),  while  that  of  Milan  holds 
1  E.  A.  Freeman,  History  of  Architecture. 


MEDIAEVAL  ARCHITECTURE.  521 

the  second  place.     The  one  covers  the  immense  area  of 
124,000  square  feet,  the  other  108,277  square  feet.i 

The  Gothic  style  found  support  in  the  imaginative 
and  idealizing  tendencies  of  the  middle  ages.  It  was 
not  equally  well  adapted  to  satisfy  a  utilitarian  age, 
since  it  was  not  distinguished  by  subordination  to  defi- 
nite practical  ends.  With  the  decline,  therefore,  of  the 
medieeval  spirit,  one  aid  to  its  dominion  was  withdrawn, 
or  at  least  greatly  diminished.  At  the  same  time  the 
enthusiasm  for  classic  learning  naturally  begot  a  prefer- 
ence for  the  classic  models  in  architecture.  The  result 
was  that  the  Renaissance  style,  first  in  Italy  and  then 
in  other  countries,  began  to  encroach  upon  the  Gothic. 
Without  being  limited  to  a  very  definite  pattern,  the 
new  style  borrowed  various  details  from  the  classic 
Roman.  In  some  of  its  more  noted  embodiments  the 
elongated  dome  was  a  very  conspicuous  feature.  This 
was  especially  the  case  with  the  cathedral  at  Florence, 
and  with  St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  the  enormous  dimensions 
of  whose  domes  suggest  that  the  task  of  raising  the 
pantheon  high  in  air  has  veritably  been  accomjDlished. 

St.  Peter's,  if  not  the  purest,  may  be  pronounced  the 
grandest  example  of  the  Renaissance.  Several  architects 
with  differing  ideas  successively  directed  the  long  pro- 
cess of  its  construction.  This  was  not  favorable  to  unity 
of  design.  Some  of  the  decorations  also  are  far  from 
being  in  the  best  taste.  But  the  magnificent  propor- 
tions of  the  building  (covering  an  area  of  about  five 
acres),  the  mighty  dome  by  which  it  is  crowned,  and  the 
wealth  of  materials  which  it  embraces,  make  it  one  of 
the  most  imposing  of  religious  temples  in  the  world. 

1  Figures  by  Fergusson. 


522  THE  MEDIAEVAL   CHURCH. 


III.  —  PAINTING. 

The  staid  Byzantine  and  the  rude  native  style  — 
which  latter  flourished  most  conspicuously  among  the 
Lombards  —  helped  by  their  modifying  influence  upon 
each  other  to  initiate  a  style  more  satisfactory  than 
either.  This  reached  its  flower  in  Italy  in  the  thirteenth 
century.  The  development,  as  Kugler  remarks,  is  not 
fully  open  to  inspection.  *'  We  only  perceive  that  earlier 
or  later,  according  to  the  local  conditions  of  each  dis- 
trict, the  Byzantine  style  and  the  old  native  Lombard 
become  amalgamated  into  a  new  whole,  —  first  one  and 
then  another  constitutent  feature  predominating,  but 
always  impelled  forward  by  the  same  tendency." 

Tuscany,  with  its  enterprising  cities,  like  Siena  and 
Florence,  was  the  most  prominent  theatre  of  this  ad- 
vance in  art.  Cimabue  and  Duccio  were  the  brilliant 
lights  of  the  new  school  in  the  last  half  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  The  fame  of  the  former  is  perpetuated  by 
wall  paintings  in  the  church  of  St.  Francis  in  Assisi, — 
a  fitting  place  for  his  genuis  to  record  itself,  for  the 
religious  enthusiasm  which  emanated  from  Francis  was 
one  of  the  sources  of  the  new  inspiration  in  painting.  A 
specially  renowned  work  of  Duccio  is  the  large  picture 
which  he  contributed  to  the  altar  of  the  cathedral  in 
Siena. 

In  the  fourteenth  century  two  distinguishing  tenden- 
cies made  themselves  manifest  among  the  Tuscan  paint- 
ers, the  one  having  its  centre  at  Florence  and  the  other 
at  Siena.     The  Florentine  painters  were  characterized 


MEDIEVAL   PAINTING.  523 

by  energy  of  representation,  by  power  of  grouping,  and 
by  a  realistic  bent.  The  Sienese  exhibited  less  intensity, 
were  less  realistic,  delighted  in  calm  and  deep  feeling, 
and  sought  to  impress  by  the  sweetness  and  sanctity  of 
individual  faces,  rather  than  by  dramatic  combinations. 
The  former  took  pleasure  in  portraying  the  manifold 
diversities  which  appear  in  earthly  and  spiritual  rela- 
tions. The  latter  were  content  with  a  narrower  range, 
and  sought  to  do  justice  to  such  subjects  as  had  been 
more  commonly  included  in  the  cycle  of  Christian  art. 

At  the  head  of  the  Florentine  school  in  the  fourteenth 
century  stood  Giotto  (1276-1336).  An  interesting  ac- 
count of  his  induction  into  an  artistic  career  has  been 
given  us  by  Ghiberti.  "  The  art  of  painting,"  he  says, 
"  took  its  rise  in  a  village  of  Etruria,  nigh  to  Florence, 
by  name  Vespignano.  A  child  was  born  there  of  ad- 
mirable genius.  Cimabue,  the  painter,  passing  by  on 
his  road  to  Bologna,  beheld  him  sitting  on  the  ground, 
and  drawing  a  sheep  from  nature  on  a  smooth  stone. 
Marvelling  to  see  a  child  so  young  design  so  well,  and 
perceiving  that  he  had  the  art  from  nature,  he  inquired 
his  name.  The  child  answered  and  said,  '  I  am  called 
Giotto,  and  my  father's  name  is  Bondone,  and  he  lives 
in  this  cottage  hard  by.'  Cimabue  went  in  with  Giotto 
to  his  father ;  Cimabue's  presence  was  most  noble ; 
he  begged  the  boy  of  the  father,  and  the  father  was 
wretchedly  poor ;  he  gave  up  the  child  to  Cimabue  ; 
Cimabue  took  him  away  with  him,  and  Giotto  was  his 
disciple."  1 

So  apt  was  the  scholar  that  at  the  age  of  twenty  he 

1  Quoted  by  Lord  Lindsay,  Sketches  of  the  History  of  Christian  Art, 
vol.  ii. 


524  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

was  past  the  instruction  of  his  patron  ;  and  his  influence 
was  on  a  plane  with  his  proficiency.  He  stood  in 
friendly  relations  with  distinguished  contemporaries, 
being  praised  by  such  masters  of  verse  as  Dante  and 
Petrarch.  Popes  and  princes  were  glad  to  employ  his 
talents,  and  leading  monasteries  counted  it  good  fortune 
to  possess  a  work  from  his  hand. 

Giotto  enriched  the  domain  of  painting  with  a  multi- 
tude of  new  creations,  and  raised  the  art  to  a  new  stage 
as  regards  the  vivid  and  careful  delineation  of  character. 
He  was  not  altogether  successful  in  dealing  with  the 
stronger  passions.  Still  his  works  gave  new  emphasis 
to  the  idea  that  art  should  furnish  an  image  of  reality. 
"  From  the  point  of  view  of  his  age,  Giotto's  advance 
toward  nature,  considered  relatively  to  his  predecessors, 
was  in  truth  enormous."  ^ 

Among  the  pupils  of  Giotto  a  prominent  place  was 
held  by  Taddeo  Gaddi.  The  greatest  successor,  how- 
ever, in  the  Florentine  school  was  Andrea,  or  Orcagna, 
as  he  is  commonly  called.  Like  Giotto,  he  was  not 
merely  a  painter,  but  also  an  architect  and  sculptor. 
Three  great  pictures  of  his  representing  the  Last  Judg- 
ment, Hell,  and  Paradise,  are  found  on  the  walls  of  the 
Capella  Strozzi  in  the  Santa  Maria  Novella  at  Florence. 
Liibke  remarks  of  the  last :  "  The  arrangement  is  still 
generally  stiff,  and  without  picturesque  grouping ;  but 
the  grand  beauty  of  the  heads,  the  rich,  free  character- 
ization of  the  figures,  and  the  inexhaustible  abundance 
of  the  noblest  forms  of  drapery,  are  truly  enchanting. 
No  picture  throughout  the  whole  Gothic  epoch  com- 
bines so  much  rich  beauty."  Two  renowned  pictures  in 
1  Woltmann  and  Woermann. 


« 


MEDIAEVAL  PAINTING.  525 

the  Caiiipo  Santa  at  Pisa,  the  Last  Judgment  and  the 
Triumph  of  Death,  have  been  attributed  to  Orcagna.^ 
The  former  has  been  favorably  compared  with  the  great 
work  on  the  same  subject  by  Michael  Angelo,  who  was 
content  to  borrow  from  it  some  suggestions. 

A  principal  representative  of  the  Sienese  school  was 
Simone  di  Martino,  a  contemporary  of  Giotto.  In  har- 
mony with  the  description  which  has  been  given  of 
this  school,  we  find  his  works  expressing  tenderness  of 
emotion,  calm  devotion,  and  peaceful  aspiration,  rather 
than  dramatic  energy.  With  Simone  are  to  be  asso- 
ciated Lippo  Memmi,  Pietro  di  Lorenzo,  and  Ambrogio 
di  Lorenzo. 

The  spirit  of  the  Sienese  school  found  in  the  fifteenth 
century  a  distinguished  exponent  in  the  Dominican 
monk,  Fra  Giovanni  Angelico.  The  sphere  of  his 
representations  was  limited,  but  within  that  sphere  he 
h  as  scarcely  been  excelled.  "  The  inspired  fervor  of 
the  Christian  mind,"  says  Liibke,  "•  the  angelic  purity 
and  beauty  of  the  soul,  have  never  been  so  gloriously 
portrayed  in  plastic  art  as  they  are  in  his  works.  The 
tender  breath  of  an  almost  supernaturally  ideal  life 
plays  around  his  creations,  and  smiles  from  the  rosy 
features  of  the  youthful  heads,  or  is  wafted  to  us  like 
heavenly  peace  from  the  dignified  figures  of  his  aged 
men.  The  expression  of  humility,  of  a  cheerful  resting 
in  God,  the  calm  sabbatic  rest  of  those  who  are  devoted 
in  true  love  to  the  Most  High,  forms  the  range  of  his 

i  Most  of  our  authorities  make  this  assignment,  but  Woltmann  and 
Woermann  argue  that  the  style  of  these  pictures  differs  too  widely  from 
that  of  the  authenticated  works  of  Orcagna  to  justify  their  being  referred 
to  his  hand. 


526  THE  MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

representations.  The  varied  emotion,  the  changeful 
course  of  life,  the  energy  of  action  and  passion,  are 
absent  from  his  works." 

Before  proceeding  with  the  succession  of  ItaHan 
painters,  it  is  incumbent  upon  us  to  turn  a  glance 
toward  those  of  Germany  and  the  Netherlands,  since 
Italian  art  in  the  fifteenth  century  was  not  without 
obligations  to  the  northern  region. 

Contemporary  with  the  rise  of  Gothic  architecture 
and  the  growth  of  chivalry,  German  painting  gave  some 
evidences  of  the  freer  impulses  at  work  in  society. 
Notable  achievements,  however,  were  not  made  till  the 
fourteenth  century.  In  the  latter  part  of  that  century 
three  schools  attained  a  measure  of  celebrity ;  namel}', 
that  of  Prague  under  the  patronage  of  the  Emperor, 
Charles  IV.,  that  of  Nuremberg,  and,  most  important 
of  all,  that  of  Cologne.  Each  of  these  exhibited  some- 
what of  the  traits  of  the  Sienese  school  in  Italian  art. 
They  were  skilled  in  the  representation  of  the  passive 
virtues.  They  gave  to  the  countenances  of  their  sub- 
jects a  peculiar  cast  of  purity,  meekness,  and  spiritual- 
ity. This  was  their  talent.  The  genius  which  is  able 
to  impart  motion  to  form,  to  set  forth  the  energy  of 
passion,  or  even  to  portray  manly  strength  in  compara- 
tive rest,  they  did  not  possess. 

The  school  of  Cologne,  whose  most  eminent  masters 
were  Wilhelm  and  Stephan,  flourished  during  the  last 
two  decades  of  the  fourteenth  century  and  the  first 
three  of  the  fifteenth.  At  this  time  there  arose  in  the 
Netherlands  a  school  of  special  historical  significance. 
Its  founders  were  the  brothers  Hubert  and  John  van 


I 


MEDIMVAL  PAINTING.  527 

Eyck.  The  distinguishing  traits  of  the  school  as  stamped 
upon  it  by  the  two  brothers  were  a  decided  bent  to 
realism,  a  predilection  for  exact  truthfulness,  and  cer- 
tain points  of  special  proficiency  in  execution.  Under 
the  last  designation  belong  an  improved  dealing  with 
perspective,  which  prepared  for  an  advance  in  landscape 
painting,  and  some  discovery  respecting  the  use  of  oils 
that  was  of  great  service  to  art.^ 

The  most  renowned  work  of  the  founders  was  the 
Adoration  of  the  Lamb,  an  altar-piece  in  twelve  panels 
in  the  cathedral  of  Ghent.  This  was  begun  by  Hubert, 
and  completed  by  John  a  few  years  after  the  death  of 
his  brother,  in  1426. 

Among  the  numerous  successors  of  the  Van  Eycks, 
an  eminent  place  was  held  by  Memling,  who  combined 
with  the  realism  of  the  Flemish  school  much  of  the 
tenderness  and  feeling  for  quiet  beauty  which  charac- 
terized the  school  of  Cologne.  A  later  representative  of 
considerable  note  was  Quintin  Matsys. 

The  painters  of  the  Netherlands  showed  little  capacity 

1  There  appears  to  have  been  some  question  as  respects  the  exact 
nature  of  this  discovery.  As  a  recent  verdict  well  entitled  to  considera- 
tion we  quote  the  following :  **  The  real  improvement  they  introduced 
was  not  in  the  mixing,  but  in  the  application  of  colors.  In  tempera  paint- 
ing, as  it  was  then  practised,  the  colors  were  ground  and  prepared  sepa- 
rately, and  then  applied  side  by  side  with  the  colors  already  laid  on  and 
dried,  or  as  a  fresh  layer  over  the  dry  color,  Tlie  Van  Eycks  introduced 
the  new  method  of  painting  over  and  into  wet  color ;  and  to  this  end 
they  took  advantage  of  the  slow-drying  properties  of  oil  color,  which,  on 
the  old  system,  had  been  an  insuperable  objection.  They  mixed  the 
colors  with  the  medium  on  the  palette,  and  worked  them  together  on  the 
picture  itself,  thus  obtaining  more  brilliant  effects  of  light,  as  well  as 
more  delicate  gradations  of  tone,  with  an  infinitely  nearer  approach  to 
the  truth  of  nature."     (Woltmann  and  Woermann.) 


528  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

to  rise  above  the  plane  which  the  Van  Eycks  had  occu- 
pied. An  advance  to  a  higher  stage  was  first  realized, 
so  far  as  respects  the  Germanic  peoples,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  the  annals  of  early 
Protestantism  were  adorned  by  the  names  of  two  such 
consummate  artists  as  Albert  Diirer  and  the  younger 
Holbein,  not  to  mention  that  very  prolific  painter,  Lucas 
Cranach.  With  the  bent  to  realism  characteristic  of 
the  Netherlands  school  Diirer  and  Holbein  united  larger 
original  power,  greater  energy  of  conception  and  facility 
of  grasp.  Diirer  was  distinguished  in  engraving  no  less 
than  in  painting.  Among  the  trophies  of  his  genius  in 
the  former  line  the  most  celebrated  pieces  are  the  Mel- 
ancholy, and  Death  and  the  Knight. 

The  great  era  of  Italian  art,  beginning  shortly  before 
the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  and  reaching  into  the  six- 
teenth century,  was  the  unrivalled  age  of  Christian 
painting.  A  still  broader  statement  is  allowable. 
While  the  age  of  Pericles  continues  to  bear  the  palm 
as  respects  sculpture,  no  other  era  in  all  history  can 
boast  of  such  achievements  in  painting  as  can  the 
era  of  the  Italian  Renaissance.  All  the  conditions 
of  a  flowering  age  were  then  at  hand :  the  imaginative 
literature  of  the  great  Italian  poets,  rich  and  awe- 
inspiring  religious  temples  bequeathed  by  one  of  the 
greatest  epochs  in  the  annals  of  architecture,  the  ideals 
which  the  mystic  piety  of  the  middle  ages  had  wrought 
out,  supplemented  by  the  skill  and  grace  which  were 
naturally  born  of  an  enthusiastic  study  of  classic  re- 
mains. To  be  impressed  with  the  exceptional  wealth 
of  the  era,  one  has  only  to  look  over  the  names  of  its 


MEDIEVAL  PAINTING.  529 

distinguished  artists,  each  of  which  calls  up  forms  of 
almost  ideal  beauty,  such  names  as  Masaccio,  Fillippo 
Lippi,  Domenico  Ghirlandajo,  Luca  Signorelli,  Andrea 
Mantegna,  Pietro  Perugino,  Giovanni  Bellini,  Francesco 
Francia,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Bernardino  Luini,  Fra 
Bartolommeo,  Andrea  del  Sarto,  Michael  Angelo  Buo- 
narroti, Raphael  Sanzio,  Antonio  Allegri  da  Correggio, 
Giorgione,  and  Tiziano  Vecellio. 

To  three  of  these,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Michael  An- 
gelo, and  Raphael,  common  consent  assigns  a  pre-emi- 
nent place.  Correggio  and  Tiziano  (Titian)  are  also 
ranked  as  stars  of  the  first  magnitude,  — the  former  an 
adept  in  the  use  of  light  and  shade,  the  latter,  like 
Bellini  and  Giorgione,  exhibiting  the  characteristic  skill 
of  the  Venetian  school  in  the  use  of  colors,  a  portrait 
painter  of  almost  unrivalled  fame,  gifted  in  the  represen- 
tation of  earthly  magnificence,  but  leaving  also  among 
the  products  of  his  long  career  some  noble  works  on  re- 
ligious subjects. 

Leonardo  da  Vinci  (1452-1519)  was  a  man  of  com- 
prehensive ability.  In  person  and  in  mind  he  was  one 
of  the  most  gifted  of  the  sons  of  men.  He  was  comely, 
strong,  and  skilled  in  bodily  exercises.  He  was  at  once 
painter,  sculptor,  civil  engineer,  architect,  musician,  and 
poet.  With  high  genius  he  joined  great  industry  and 
painstaking.  Whatever  respect  he  had  for  antique 
models,  he  thought  it  necessary  to  have  continual  re- 
course to  the  direct  lessons  of  nature,  saying  that  "sach 
.teachings  at  second  hand  make  the  artist  not  the  child, 
but  the  grandchild  of  nature."  He  spent  much  time 
in  the  study  of  anatomy,  took  note  of  expression  on  all 
occasions,  followed  criminals  to  execution  to  catch  the 

34 


530  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

lineaments  of  horror  and  despair,  and  entered  into 
amusing  conversation  with  peasants  the  better  to  ac- 
quaint himself  with  the  image  of  artless  mirth.  His 
high  rank  as  a  painter  is  due  to  his  combination  of  deep 
sentiment  with  scientific  accuracy.  Says  Kugler  : 
"  With  scientific  study  and  accuracy  he  joined  a  sound 
subjective  feeling,  a  refined  enthusiastic  sentimentality 
which  in  some  sort  may  be  compared  with  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  Umbrian  school.  In  some  of  his  works 
the  one  or  the  other  of  these  tendencies  predominates ; 
in  the  principal  ones,  on  the  other  hand,  both  seem  to 
balance  each  other  in  purest  harmony.  ...  He  who 
investigated  common  life,  even  to  its  minutest  modifica- 
tions and  details,  could  also  represent  the  holy  and  the 
divine  with  a  dignity,  calmness,  and  beauty  of  which 
the  greatest  genius  alone  is  capable." 

Milan  and  Florence  were  the  chief  seats  of  Leonardo's 
activity.  It  was  in  the  former,  on  the  walls  of  the 
refectory  of  the  convent  of  Santa  Maria  della  Grazie, 
that  he  executed  his  world-renowned  painting,  the  Last 
Supper.  This  is  known  to  us  mainly  by  early  copies 
and  engravings,  as  the  original  was  shamefully  defaced 
long  since.  The  arrangement  of  the  disciples  and  their 
Master  at  the  table  was  borrowed  rather  from  the  cus- 
tom of  the  refectory  than  from  the  original  scene.  But 
this  departure  from  the  externals  of  history  had  its  ade- 
quate compensation  in  the  better  scope  provided  for 
reproducing  its  spirit.  It  ministered  to  a  more  effectual 
exhibition  of  feeling  by  attitude  and  gesture,  and  was 
subservient  to  a  special  dramatic  effect  in  that  it  ena- 
bled the  artist  to  dispose  the  disciples  in  several  groups. 
The  whole  is  well  described  as  a  remarkable  fusion  of 


MEDIEVAL  PAINTING.  631 

the  real  and  the  ideal.  The  scene  is  laid  at  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  betraj^al,  and  an  echo  of  the  words, 
"  One  of  you  shall  betray  me,"  appears  in  the  sorrow- 
ful mien  of  the  Master,  as  also  in  the  agitated  faces  of 
the  disciples. 

Michael  Angelo  (1474-1563)  reveals  quite  as  re- 
markable a  range  of  abilities  as  Leonardo.  He  was 
almost  equally  great  in  architecture,  sculpture,  and 
painting,  and  was  besides  a  musician,  a  poet,  and  a 
consummate  anatomist.  While  he  devoted  no  incon- 
siderable portion  of  his  long  life  to  painting,  his  own 
preference  was  for  sculpture.  Very  distinct  traces  of 
this  predilection  appear  even  in  his  paintings.  The}^ 
reveal  the  instincts  of  the  sculptor  in  being  confined 
almost  entirely  to  the  one  subject  which  is  of  supreme 
interest  in  sculpture.  "  He  no  more  thought  of  repre- 
senting space  and  distance  than  of  the  elaboration  of  a 
detailed  foreground ;  his  treatment  of  color  is  broadly 
massive  and  he  disdained  all  the  artifice  of  atmospheric 
effects.  His  pictures  represent  the  human  form  under 
every  variety  of  impulse,  but  nothing  else."  ^ 

A  powerful  subjectivity  is  reflected  in  the  works  of 
Michael  Angelo.  He  took  scarcely  any  account  of  tra- 
ditional types.  He  wrought  out  his  own  conceptions, 
and  stamped  them  with  the  impress  of  his  own  lofty 
and  independent  spirit.  One  feels,  as  he  looks  over  the 
crowded  assembly  of  his  creations,  that  he  has  given 
only  one  side  of  reality.  Strength,  grandeur,  energy, 
and  intensest  will  are  there.  Of  meekness  and  gentle- 
ness, of  contriteness  and  humility,  of  wrapt  devotion 
and  serene  blessedness,  there  is  little  glimpse. 
1  Woltmann  and  Woermann. 


532  THE  MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

Michael  Angelo's  masterpiece  in  painting  is  on  the 
ceiling  of  the  Sistine  Chapel  in  Rome.  Liibke  speaks 
of  this  as  "  the  mightiest  monument  of  painting  through- 
out all  ages."  It  contains  probably  the  most  successful 
venture  which  human  audacity  has  ever  essayed  in  the 
representation  of  Deity,  —  the  picture  of  the  Almighty 
flying  forth  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  in  the  work  of 
creation.  A  peculiar  majesty  attaches  to  the  forms 
of  prophets  and  sibyls,  and  in  the  list  of  Biblical  scenes 
reaching  onward  from  the  creation  there  are  many  ap- 
proaches to  the  lofty  height  of  the  sacred  theme. 

A  second  renowned  work  of  Michael  Angelo,  exe- 
cuted in  his  later  years,  has  been  preserved  on  the  wall 
of  the  same  chapel.  It  is  an  extensive  work,  contain- 
ing more  than  a  hundred  figures,  in  whose  expressions 
and  attitudes  one  sees  at  a  glance  that  the  sentence 
of  doom,  the  great  fiat  of  the  Judgment  Day,  has 
gone  forth  from  the  enthroned  Christ.  The  picture 
shows  the  power  of  the  master,  but  also  his  limitation. 
There  is  no  adequate  glimpse  of  the  transfigured  life  of 
heaven,  to  stand  in  contrast  with  the  fevered  agony 
of  the  lost.  In  general,  the  physical  is  over  promi- 
nent. The  athletic  element,  so  to  speak,  trenches  on 
the  spiritual.  Of  the  two  great  paintings,  the  one  on 
the  ceiling  is  the  nobler  memorial  of  a  sublime  artistic 
genius. 

Raphael  (1483-1520)  received  his  first  lessons  in  art  in 
the  Umbrian  school.  This  school  resembled  the  Sienese 
of  the  preceding  era,  being  characterized  by  serenity 
and  mystical  tenderness  rather  than  by  dramatic  energy. 
Such  qualities  were  displayed  in  eminent  degree  by 
Pietro  Perugino,  the  early  teacher  of  Raphael,  and  the 


MEDLEVAL  PAINTING.  533 

first  works  of  Raphael  bear  the  same  general  stamp. 
Later,  he  enriched  and  ennobled  his  style  by  com- 
munion with  the  Florentine  masters. 

A  supreme  sense  for  beauty  joined  with  wonderful 
skill  and  delicacy  of  execution  may  be  described  as 
the  distinguishing  features  of  Raphael's  genius.  "  The 
magic  power  in  Raphael,"  says  Kugler,  '^  is  the  spirit  of 
beauty,  which  filled  his  whole  being  and  shines  through 
all  his  creations.  A  beautiful  and  harmonious  develop- 
ment of  form  is  his  first  aim,  but  not  in  the  restrictive 
sense  in  which  it  was  studied  by  the  masters  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  In  Raphael  beauty  of  form  is  the 
expression  of  elevation  of  mind,  and  of  the  utmost 
purity  of  soul.  In  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  the  chief  aim 
appears  to  have  been  a  characteristic  and  thorough  ex- 
pression of  the  theme  he  had  to  treat ;  in  Michael  An- 
gelo  we  remark  a  peculiar,  grand,  subjective  mode  of 
conception  ;  in  both,  beauty  of  form  is  to  be  considered 
a  secondary  element :  it  is  the  reverse  in  Raphael." 

Though  dying  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-seven,  Ra- 
phael left  in  vast  number  the  trophies  of  his  genius. 
No  other  artist  ever  produced  so  much  and  of  such 
uniform  excellence  in  so  short  a  time.  Among  his 
more  distinguished  works  are  the  four  large  wall  paint- 
ings in  the  Camera  della  Segnatura  of  the  Vatican,  en- 
titled Theology,  Poetry,  Philosophy,  and  Ethics ;  the 
frescos  in  the  Chamber  of  Heliodorus,  including  the 
Expulsion  of  Heliodorus  from  the  Temple,  the  Mass 
of  Bolsena,  the  March  of  Attila,  and  the  Deliverance 
of  St.  Peter ;  the  ample  list  of  Biblical  scenes  em- 
ployed in  the  ornamentation  of  the  Loggia,  and  called 
Raphael's   Bible ;    the   Cartoons,  in   which  the   great 


534  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

scenes  of  the  apostolic  history  are  reproduced ;  the 
Transfiguration ;  and  the  Madonnas.  Upon  each  of 
these  there  has  been  no  dearth  of  admiring  comment. 
To  some  of  them  art  has  not  yet  been  able  to  present 
a  worthy  rival.  Respecting  the  creations  in  the  Camera 
della  Segnatura,  Muntz  says :  "-  The  profundity  of  the 
ideas,  the  nobility  of  the  style,  and  the  youthful  vitality 
which  prevails  in  every  detail  of  the  decoration,  make 
up  a  monumental  achievement  which  is  without  parallel 
in  the  annals  of  painting."  ^ 

Of  the  Madonnas,  the  Sistine,  executed  near  the  close 
of  Raphael's  life,  is  the  most  remarkable  creation.  No 
better  description  of  this  can  be  devised  than  that 
which  has  been  given  in  the  words  of  Kugler :  ''  Here 
the  Madonna  appears  as  the  queen  of  the  heavenly  host 
in  a  brilliant  glory  of  countless  angel  heads,  standing  on 
the  clouds  with  the  Eternal  Son  in  her  arms ;  St.  Sixtus 
and  St.  Barbara  kneel  at  the  sides.  Both  of  them  seem 
to  connect  the  picture  with  the  real  spectators.  A 
curtain-drawn  back  encloses  the  picture  on  each  side. 
Underneath  is  a  light  parapet  on  which  two  beautiful 
boy  angels  lean.  The  Madonna  is  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  creations  of  Raphael's  pencil ;  she  is  at  once 
the  exalted  and  blessed  woman  of  whom  the  Savior  was 
born,  and  the  tender  earthly  virgin  whose  pure  and 
humble  nature  was  esteemed  worthy  of  so  great  a  des- 
tiny. There  is  something  scarcely  describable  in  her 
countenance ;  it  expresses  a  timid  astonishment  at  the 
miracle  of  her  elevation,  and  at  the  same  time  the  free- 
dom and  dignity  resulting  from   the  consciousness  of 

1  Life,  Works,  and  Times  of  Raphael,  translated  from  the  French. 


MEDIEVAL  PAINTING.  535 

her  divine  situation.  The  child  rests  naturally,  but  not 
listlessly,  in  her  arms,  and  looks  down  upon  the  world 
with  a  serious  expression.  Never  has  the  loveliness  of 
childhood  been  blended  so  touchingiy  with  a  deep-felt 
solemn  consciousness  of  the  holiest  calling  as  in  the 
features  and  countenance  of  this  child.  The  eye  is 
with  difficulty  disenchanted  from  the  deep  impressions 
produced  by  these  two  figures,  so  as  to  rest  on  the 
grandeur  and  dignity  of  the  Pope,  the  lowly  devotion 
of  St.  Barbara,  and  the  cheerful  innocence  of  the  angel 
children." 

The  great  genius  of  Raphael  is  matter  for  no  dispute 
or  division  of  opinion.  But  some  have  been  disposed 
to  question  his  service  to  art  in  its  specifically  Christian 
sense.  They  have  alleged  that  he  yielded  to  the  spirit 
of  the  pagan  renaissance,  that  he  went  outside  of  Chris- 
tian subjects  to  glorify  the  characters  of  the  classic 
world,  that  he  helped  on  the  tendency  of  his  age  to 
sacrifice  spirituality  to  the  exact  portrayal  of  earthly 
forms.  Thus  John  Ruskin  says:  *' Raphael  in  his 
twenty-fifth  year  was  sent  for  to  Rome,  to  decorate 
the  Vatican  for  Pope  Julius  II.,  and  having  until  that 
time  worked  exclusively  in  the  ancient  and  stern  medi- 
aeval manner,  he,  in  the  first  chamber  which  he  deco- 
rated in  that  palace,  wrote  upon  its  wall  the  Mene, 
Tekel,  Upharsin,  of  the  arts  of  Christianity.  And  he 
wrote  it  thus.  On  one  wall  of  that  chamber  he  placed 
a  picture  of  the  World  or  Kingdom  of  Theolog}^  pre- 
sided over  by  Christ.  And  on  the  side  wall  of  that 
same  chamber  he  placed  the  World  or  Kingdom  of 
Poetry,  presided  over  by  Apollo.  And  from  that  spot, 
and  from  that  hour,  the  intellect  and  the  art  of  Italy 


536  THE  MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

date  their  degradation.  Observe,  however,  that  the 
significance  of  this  fact  is  not  in  the  mere  use  of  the 
figure  of  the  heathen  god  to  indicate  the  domain  of 
poetry.  Such  a  symbolical  use  had  been  made  of  the 
figures  of  heathen  deities  in  the  best  times  of  Christian 
art.  But  it  is  the  fact  that,  being  called  to  Rome 
especially  to  adorn  the  palace  of  the  so  called  head  of 
the  Church,  and  called  as  the  chief  representative  of 
the  Christian  artists  of  his  time,  Raphael  had  neither 
religion  nor  originality  enough  to  trace  the  spirit  of 
poetry  and  the  spirit  of  philosophy  to  the  inspiration  of 
the  true  God,  as  well  as  that  of  theology ;  but  that,  on 
the  contrar}'.  Tie  elevated  the  creations  of  fancy  on  the  one 
wall  to  the  same  rank  as  the  objects  of  faith  upon  the 
other;  that  in  deliberate,  balanced  opposition  to  the 
Rock  of  Mount  Zion,  he  reared  the  rock  of  Parnassus 
and  the  rock  of  the  Acropolis ;  that  among  the  masters 
of  poetry  we  find  him  enthroning  Petrarch  and  Pindar, 
but  not  Isaiah  and  David,  and  for  lords  over  the  do- 
main of  philosophy  we  find  the  masters  of  the  school 
of  Athens,  but  neither  of  those  greater  masters  by  the 
last  of  whom  that  school  was  rebuked,  —  those  who 
received  their  wisdom  from  heaven  itself  in  the  vision 
of  Gibeon  (1  Kings  iii.  5),  and  in  the  lightning  of 
Damascus.  The  doom  of  the  arts  of  Europe  went 
forth  from  that  chamber,  and  it  was  brought  about  in 
great  part  by  the  very  excellences  of  the  man  who  had 
thus  marked  the  commencement  of  decline.  The  per- 
fection of  execution  and  the  beauty  of  feature  which 
were  attained  in  his  works,  and  those  of  his  great  con- 
temporaries, rendered  finish  of  execution  and  beauty  of 
form  the  chief  objects  of  all  artists,  and  thenceforward 


MEDIEVAL  PAINTING.  537 

execution   was   looked   for  rather   than    thought,  and 
beauty  rather  than  veracity."  ^ 

This  fervid  specimen  of  Pre-Raphaelite  criticism,  what- 
ever element  of  truth  it  may  contain,  assigns  to  Raphael 
by  far  too  large  a  responsibility  in  the  decline  of  art. 
Where  genius  is  a  principal  factor  in  working  out  re- 
sults, steady  advance  is  never  maintained.  The  age  of 
flower  and  fruit  is  likely  to  be  followed  by  the  age  of 
comparative  decline.  It  has  been  so  in  the  history 
of  poetry.  Analogy  would  lead  us  to  expect  that  it 
would  not  be  otherwise  in  the  history  of  art.  Had 
Raphael,  within  the  limits  of  his  genius,  wrought  other- 
wise than  he  did,  the  era  of  decadence  probably  would 
not  have  been  much  retarded.  It  was  beyond  his 
power  to  control  the  issue.  Very  likely  he  did  not 
reach  the  ideal  as  respects  the  union  of  beauty  with 
spiritual  depth.  But  his  contribution  toward  the  ideal 
is  of  permanent  and  inestimable  worth  to  the  race. 
Art  at  the  acme  of  its  future  triumph  may  give  greater 
and  more  successful  heed  to  spiritual  depth  than  did 
Raphael ;  it  will  not  make  less  account  of  beauty  of 
form. 

1  Lectures  on  Architecture  and  Painting. 


I 


APPENDIX 


I 


APPENDIX. 


THE   SEVEN   SACRAMENTS. 

In  the  early  centuries,  while  the  term  "  sacrament "  was 
pre-eminently  associated  with  baptism  and  the  eucharist,  it 
was  given  a  wide  application,  being  made  to  include  any- 
thing to  which  a  special  sanctity  pertained.  Thus,  Ter- 
tullian  spoke  of  the  work  of  Christ  as  ^'  the  sacrament  of 
human  salvation,"  and  styled  the  death  of  Christ  ^^the 
sacrament  of  His  passion."  Hilary,  Leo  the  Great,  and 
Gregory  the  Great  likewise  spoke  of  "  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  passion."  Augustine  referred  to  the  Sabbath  and 
circumcision,  among  other  things,  as  sacraments.  The 
pseudo  Dionysius,  the  author  of  mystical  writings  in  the 
fifth  century,  prepared  a  ground  for  a  somewhat  more 
definite  usage,  since  he  specified  six  Christian  mysteries ; 
namely,  baptism,  eucharist,  anointing,  priestly  consecration, 
dedication  to  monastic  life,  and  the  ceremonial  for  the 
dead,  —  an  anointing  of  the  body  of  the  deceased.  This 
Dionysius,  as  being  accounted  in  the  Middle  Ages  the  veri- 
table Areopagite  converted  by  Paul,  was  much  of  an  author- 
ity. Still,  his  list  of  mysteries,  or  sacraments,  seems  not  to 
have  regulated  very  largely  the  usage  of  the  scholastics. 
Great  indefiniteness  continued  to  characterize  the  subject. 


542  APPENDIX. 

until  at  length  in  the  twelfth  century  Peter  Lombard  set 
forth  the  following  list  of  seven  sacraments:  "baptism, 
confirmation,  eucharist,  penance,  extreme  unction,  holy  or- 
ders, marriage."  This  list  was  accepted  by  Thomas  Aqui- 
nas and  Bonaventura,  and  was  officially  sanctioned  by  Pope 
Eugenius  IV.,  near  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

The  scholastic  conception  of  baptism  was  essentially  the 
same  as  prevailed  in  the  Church  in  the  time  of  Augustine. 
It  was  understood  to  effect  absolution  from  guilt  and  ame- 
lioration of  inherited  corruption,  and  was  regarded  as  neces- 
sary to  salvation.  However,  in  virtue  of  the  proper  desire, 
faith,  and  purpose,  one  debarred  from  baptism  might  be 
saved.  As  infants  cannot  offer  these  compensations,  their 
death  without  baptism  was  regarded  by  the  mediaeval  theo- 
logians as  dooming  them  to  hell,  though  not  to  the  sharp 
torments  visited  upon  most  of  the  lost.  Dante  was  not 
unfaithful  to  the  common  thought  when  he  thus  described 
the  limbus  puerorum :  — 

"  A  place  there  is  below  not  sad  with  torments, 
But  darkness  only,  where  the  lamentations 
Have  not  the  sound  of  wailing,  but  are  sighs." 

The  formula  for  confirmation  was  as  follows :  "  I  sign 
thee  with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  confirm  thee  with  the 
chrism  of  salvation,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and 
the  Holy  Spirit,  Amen."  This  sacrament  was  understood 
to  supplement  baptism,  affording  strength  in  the  standing 
to  which  the  candidate  had  been  introduced  by  the  initial 
rite. 

The  sacrificial  notion  was  dominant  in  the  mediaeval 
thought  of  the  eucharist.  The  table  of  communion  was 
displaced  by  an  altar  of  sacrifice,  upon  which  the  actual 
body  of  Christ  was  supposed  to  serve  as  a  propitiatory  offer- 
ing for  the  living  and  the  dead.  At  the  height  of  the  scho- 
lastic era  some  refinements  were  made  on  the  doctrine  of 


APPENDIX.  543 

the  real  presence,  though  always  at  the  expense  of  the 
reality  in  the  case.  Thus  the  idea  which  Eadbertus  seems 
to  have  entertained  in  the  ninth  century  respecting  a  sun- 
dering of  the  body  of  Christ  into  parts,  was  displaced  by 
the  theory  (adopted  by  the  Council  of  Trent)  that  the  body 
is  entire  under  any  separate  portion  of  the  species  of  bread. 
The  first  ecumenical  sanction  of  transubstantiation  appeared 
in  the  language  of  the  fourth  Lateran  Council  in  1215. 

According  to  the  completed  scholastic  doctrine,  the  valid 
execution  of  the  sacrament  of  penance  requires,  on  the  side 
of  the  penitent,  contrition,  confession,  and  sincere  engage- 
ment to  do  the  prescribed  works  of  satisfaction ;  on  the 
part  of  the  priest,  a  formal  sentence  of  absolution.  (See 
pp.  254-256.) 

Extreme  unction,  designed  for  bodily  alleviation  and  for 
the  cancelling  of  venial  sins,  was  ministered  by  the  use  of 
vocal  prayer,  and  by  anointing  the  body  of  the  sick  on  the 
eyes,  the  ears,  the  nostrils,  the  lips,  the  hands,  the  feet,  and 
the  loins. 

Like  the  other  sacraments  incapable  of  repetition,  namely, 
baptism  and  confirmation,  the  sacrament  of  order  was  sup- 
posed to  impress  an  indelible  character  upon  the  recipient. 
Ecclesiastical  dignities  above  the  priestly  were  not  counted 
as  representing  distinct  orders.  Accordingly,  the  list  of 
seven  orders,  as  given  by  Peter  Lombard,  runs  as  follows : 
"door-keepers,  readers,  exorcists,  acolytes,  subdeacons,  dea- 
cons, priests. 

The  sacramental  character  of  marriage  was  generally 
acknowledged,  though  as  late  and  prominent  a  writer  as 
Durandus  took  the  ground  that  marriage  can  be  called  a 
sacrament  only  in  a  general  way  {largo  modo).  No  cause, 
not  even  that  of  adultery,  was  regarded  as  adequate  to 
annul  the  bond  of  marriage,  so  long  a§  both  parties  should 
continue  to  live. 


544  APPENDIX. 


n. 


GENUINENESS  OF  THE  FAMOUS  BULL  OF 
ADRIAN  IV. 

The  fact  that  this  bull,  which  assumes  to  transfer  Ireland 
to  English  rule,  is  not  found  in  the  Vatican  library  cannot 
count  for  much,  since  that  library,  according  to  Theiner, 
contains  no  document  relative  to  any  dealing  with  Ireland 
which  antedates  1215.^  As  the  originals  of  other  documents 
touching  on  Irish  affairs  have  been  lost  from  the  Vatican, 
so  this  from  Adrian  may  have  been  lost  also.  The  condi- 
tions therefore  leave  full  force  to  any  positive  evidence  for 
the  genuineness  of  the  over-generous  grant  of  the  Pope  to 
Henry  II.  of  England. 

As  Lanigan  shows,^  the  evidence  is  not  scanty.  John 
of  Salisbury,  who  claims  that  he  acted  as  the  agent  of 
Henry  II.  in  eliciting  the  bull,  has  left  this  declaration : 
"Ad  preces  meas  illustri  regi  Anglorum,  Henrico  II.,  con- 
cessit et  dedit  [Adrianus]  Hiberniam  jure  hsereditario  pos- 
sidendam,  sicut  literae  ipsius  testantur  in  hodiernum  diem."  ^ 
Giraldus  Cambrensis,  the  leading  authority  for  the  history 
of  the  Anglo-Norman  invasion  of  Ireland,  gives  the  text 
of  the  buU.^  It  is  given  also  by  Matthew  Paris. ^  Pope 
Alexander  III.  expressly  mentioned  and  confirmed  Adri- 
an's grant  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Henry  II.  in  1172.^ 
John  XXII.  evidently  had  the  document  by  him,  as  he  at- 
tached a  copy  of  it  to  a  brief  which  he  sent  to  Edward  II. 

1  Stokes,  Ireland  and  the  Anglo-Norman  Church. 

2  Eccl.  Hist,  of  Ireland,  iv.  165,  166.  »  Metalogicus,  iv.  42. 
*  De  Rebus  a  se  Gestis  ii.  11  ;  Expugnatio  Hibernica,  ii.  5. 

5  Sub  Anno,  1155. 

6  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  Expugnatio  Hibernica,  ii.  5. 


f 


APPENDIX.  645 

Baronius  informs  us  that  he  took  the  copy  of  the  bull  which 
appears  in  his  history  from  the  Codex  Vaticanus.^ 

Such  a  weight  of  evidence  cannot  easily  be  offset.  The 
testimony  of  John  of  Salisbury,  supplemented  by  that  of 
Giraldus,  and  confirmed  by  the  action  of  Alexander  III., 
is  of  decisive  force.  As  Stokes  remarks  :  ^'  It  will  require 
something  more  than  a  priori  presumptions  to  convince  us 
that  a  document  publicly  proclaimed,  boasted  of,  confirmed 
within  twenty  years  of  its  original  grant,  was  a  carefully 
planned  swindle." 

We  add  the  main  portion  of  the  text  of  Adrian's  bull,  as 
also  of  the  confirmatory  sentence  of  Alexander  III. :  — 

"Sane  Hiberniam,  et  omnes  insulas,  quibus  sol  justitiae 
Christus  illuxit  et  quae  documenta  fidei  Christianae  ceperunt, 
ad  jus  beati  Petri  et  sacrosanctse  Komanse  ecclesiae,  quod 
tua  etiam  nobilitas  recognoscit,  non  est  dubium  pertinere. 
Unde  tanto  in  eis  libentius  plantationem  fidelem  et  germen 
gratum  Deo  inserimus,  quanto  id  a  nobis  interno  examine 
districtius  prospicimus  exigendum.  Significasti  siquidem 
nobis,  fill  in  Christo  carissime,  te  Hiberniae  insulam,  ad 
subdendum  ilium  populum  legibus,  et  vitiorum  plantaria  inde 
extirpanda,  velle  intrare ;  et  de  singulis  domibus  annuam 
unius  denarii  beato  Petro  velle  solvere  pensionem ;  et  jura 
ecclesiarum  illius  terrae  illibata  et  Integra  conservare.  Nos 
itaque,  pium  et  laudabile  desiderium  tuum  cum  favore  con- 
gruo  prosequentes,  et  petitioni  tuae  benignum  impendentes 
assensum,  gratum  et  acceptum  habemus,  ut  pro  dilitandis 
ecclesiae  terminis,  pro  vitiorum  restringendo  decursu,  pro 
corrigendis  moribus  et  virtutibus  inserendis,  pro  Christianas 
religionis  augmento,  insulam  illam  ingrediaris,  et  quae  ad 
honorem  Dei  et  salutem  illius  terrae  spectaverint  exequaris ; 
et  illius  terrae  populus  honorifice  te  recipiat,  et  sicut  dom.i- 
num  veneretur.   Jure  nimirum  ecclesiarum  illibato  et  integro 

1  Annal.  Eccl.  xii.  418,  anno  1159. 
35 


546  APPENDIX. 

permanente,  et  salva  beato  Petro,  et  sacrosanctge  Romanae 
ecclesiae,  de  singulis  domibus  annua  unius  denarii  pensione. 

"  Alexander  episcopus,  servus  servorum.  Dei,  carissimo  in 
Christo  filio,  illustri  Anglorum  regi,  salutem  et  apostolicam 
benedictionem.  Quoniam  ea,  quae  a  decessoribus  nostris  ra- 
tionabiliter  indulta  noscuntur,  perpetua  merentur  stabilitate 
firmari,  venerabilis  Adrian!  papse  vestigiis  inhserentes,  ves- 
trique  desiderii  fructum  attendentes,  concessionem  ejusdem 
Hibernici  regni  dominio  vobis  indulto,  salva  beato  Petro  et 
sacrosanctse  Romanse  ecclesiae,  sicut  in  Anglia  sic  et  in 
Hibernia,  de  singulis  domibus  annua  unius  denarii  pensione, 
ratam  babemus  et  confirmamus." 

III. 

SORCERY  AND  WITCHCRAFT. 

Belief  in  the  reality  of  sorcery,  or  the  efficacy  of  certain 
means  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  a  supernatural  power,  — 
generally  conceived  as  demoniacal  or  diabolical,  —  was  a 
common  inheritance  of  Christians.  It  was  current  among 
the  Jews,  the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  and  the  barbarian  tribes. 
In  the  conception  of  the  polytheistic  nations  the  belief 
may  often  have  had  less  distinct  reference  to  an  evil  super- 
naturalism  than  was  characteristic  of  it  among  the  profes- 
sors of  a  monotheistic  faith ;  but  everywhere  it  embraced 
kindred  elements. 

Before  the  modern  era,  it  is  true,  there  was  an  occasional 
manifestation  of  scepticism  respecting  the  reality  of  the 
"black  arts."  The  tenor  of  the  communication  which 
Gregory  YII.  addressed  to  the  King  of  Denmark  does  not 
indicate  any  confidence  in  the  reality  of  such  arts.  The 
German  Emperor,  Frederic  II.,  gave  tokens  of  a  very  scant 
faith  in  some  of  the  marvellous  effects  which  were  credited 


APPENDIX.  547 

to  sorcery.  In  rare  instances  a  learned  jurist,  like  Ponzi- 
nibio,  who  wrote  near  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
had  the  courage  to  pronounce  magic  in  general  a  delusion. 
But  in  the  view  of  the  great  mass  of  mediaeval  Christians 
the  wonder-working  sorcerer  was  a  decidedly  real  being. 

Imperial  Kome  gave  a  precedent  for  severe  dealing  with 
sorcerers.  The  more  obnoxious  of  their  rites  were  punish- 
able with  crucifixion,  delivery  to  beasts,  or  burning  alive. 
Among  Christian  emperors,  Constantius,  Valens,  and  Valen- 
tinian  furnished  examples  of  great  severity  toward  reputed 
sorcerers.  The  laws  of  the  Christianized  Germanic  tribes 
contained  specifications  against  sorcery.  Still,  throughout 
the  earlier  part  of  the  Middle  Ages  there  was  no  attempt 
at  violent  repression  except  in  limited  areas.  By  the  end 
of  the  twelfth  century  prosecutions  had  well-nigh  ceased. 
But  a  terrible  revival  was  begun  in  the  fourteenth  century. 
The  prying  industry  of  the  Inquisition  and  the  declarations 
of  the  popes,  notably  those  of  John  XXII.,  breathed  new 
life  into  the  delusion,  and  stimulated  whatever  of  illicit 
appetite  existed  for  dabbling  with  magic. 

In  the  fifteenth  century  the  current  belief  began  to  take 
on  a  more  sombre  hue.  Instead  of  the  conception  of  a 
sorcerer  who,  as  a  means  of  livelihood  or  diversion,  used 
extraordinary  powers,  sometimes  for  good  and  sometimes 
for  evil  ends,  there  commenced  to  prevail  the  idea  of  a 
witch  wholly  sold  to  evil,  bound  by  an  infernal  compact, 
and  accustomed  to  frequent  nightly  assemblies  presided 
over  by  the  devil.  This  version  of  the  subject  met  indeed 
with  some  objection,  but  it  advanced  toward  ascendency. 
The  popular  faith  in  the  power  of  the  witch  to  work  all 
kinds  of  evil,  to  blast  nature,  animals,  and  human  bodies, 
and  to  indulge  in  unclean  intercourse  with  demons,  was 
taken  up  and  promulgated  from  the  highest  seats  of  au- 
thority.    Innocent  VIIL,  in  the  bull  Summis  desiderantes 


548  appendix: 

(Dec.  2,  1484),  sanctioned  this  faith  in  all  its  length  and 
breadth.  In  the  preface  to  his  order  for  condign  punish- 
ment upon  witches  he  uses  this  description:  "Nuper  ad 
nostrum,  non  sine  ingenti  molestia,  pervenit  auditum,  quod 
in  nonnullis  partibus  Alemanise  superioris,  etc.,  quamplures 
utriusque  sexus  personae,  proprise  salutis  immemores,  et  a 
fide  catholica  deviantes,  cum  dsemonibus  incubis,  et  succubis 
abuti,  ac  suis  incantationibus,  carmiuibus,  et  conjurationi- 
bus,  aliisque  nefandis  superstitiis,  et  sortilegiis,  excessi- 
bus,  criminibus,  et  delectis,  multorum  partus,  animalium 
foetus,  terrse  fruges,  vinearum  uvas,  et  arborum  fructus, 
necnon  homines,  mulieres,  jumenta,  pecora,  pecudes,  et 
alia  diversorum  generum  animalia,  vineas  quoque,  poma- 
ria,  frata,  pascua,  blada,  frumenta,  et  alia  terrse  legumina 
perire,  suffocari,  et  extingui  facere."  ^  Such  deliverances 
served  naturally  to  swell  popular  terror,  and  to  multiply 
accusations.  In  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries 
the  witchcraft  delusion  wrought  with  deadly  effect.  The 
historian  of  the  Inquisition,  Paramo,  was  able  to  boast  that 
by  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  Holy  Office  had 
burned  no  less  than  thirty  thousand  witches.^  Protestants, 
as  they  shared  the  traditional  belief  respecting  witch- 
craft, helped  industriously  to  swell  the  awful  aggregate 
of  victims.^ 

1  Eaynaldus,  anno  1484,  n.  74.  Shortly  afterwards  one  of  the  Pope's 
agents,  the  Inquisitor  Sprenger,  prepared  the  celebrated  treatise,  MaUus 
Malcficarum,  —  a  kind  of  handbook  for  zealots  against  witches.  This  was 
first  published  in  1489. 

2  De  Origine  et  Progressu  Inquisitionis.  De  peculiari  quodam  lamiarum 
•genere,  quas  in  Germania  et  Italia,  ab  anno  1404  cuidam  religioni  a  diabolo 

excogitate  mancipantur,  contra  quas  adeo  acerrime  ab  inquisitoribus  de- 
pugnatum  est,  ut  centum  quinquaginta  annis,  ad  hanc  diem,  triginta  lami- 
arum millia  ut  minimum  fuerunt  concremata  (p.  296). 

^  For  a  full  summary  on  mediaeval  sorcery  and  witchcraft,  see  H.  C. 
Lea,  "The  Inquisition  in  the  Middle  Ages,"  iii.  377-549. 


APPENDIX. 


549 


Astrology,  though  viewed  as  more  or  less  allied  with  a 
questionable  magic,  and  occasionally  made  a  ground  of 
persecution,  was  treated  with  a  relative  tolerance.  It  had 
patrons  among  high  dignitaries  in  Church  and  State. 


IV. 


POPES   AND  EMPERORS. 


Date  of 
Accession. 

Popes. 

Emperors. 

582     .     c     -           

Maurice. 

590      . 

Gregory  I. 

602     . 

Phocas. 

604     . 

Sabianus. 

607     . 

Boniface  III. 

608     . 

Boniface  IV. 

610     . 

Heraclius. 

615     . 

Deusdedit. 

XO-VJ.  iA;\J l.A.\A,tJ » 

619     . 

Boniface  V. 

621     . 

Honoriiis  I. 

638     . 

Severinus. 

640     . 

John  IV. 

641     . 

Constantine  III. 

641     . 

Constans  II. 

642     . 

Theodorus  I. 

649     . 

Martin  I. 

654    . 

Eugenius  I. 

657     . 

Vitalianus. 

668     . 

Constantine  IV. 

672     . 

Adeodatus. 

676     .     . 

Doniis  or  Domnus  I. 

678     . 

Agatho. 

682     . 

Leo  II. 

683     . 

Benedict  11. 

685     . 

John  V. 

Justinian  II. 

550 


Date  of 
Accession. 


APPENDIX. 
Popes. 


686  .     . 

687  .     . 
694 

Couon. 
Sergius  I. 

697     .     . 

701     .     . 

705     .     . 
708     .     . 
708     .     . 
711     .     . 

John  VI. 
John  VII. 

Sisiuuius. 
Coustautine  I. 

713 

715     . 
716 

Gregory  II. 

716 

731     . 
741     . 

752     . 

752     . 
757     . 

767  . 

768  , 
772     . 
795     . 
800 

.     Gregory  III. 
.     Zacharias. 

.     Stephen  11. 

Stephen  III. 
.     Paul  I. 

Constantine  11. 

Stephen  IV. 
.     Adrian  I. 
.     Leo  III. 

814 

816  . 

817  . 
824     . 
827     . 
827     . 
840     . 

.     Stephen  V. 
.     Paschal  I. 
.     Eugenius  II. 
.     Valentinus. 
.     Gregory  IV. 

844     . 

847     . 
855     . 

.     Sergius  II. 

.     Leo  IV. 

.     Benedict  IIL 

Emperors. 


Leontius. 
Tiberius  III. 

Justinian  It.  (restored). 


Philippicus  Bardanes. 
Anastasius  II. 

Theodosius  IIL 

Leo  III.  (the  Isaurian). 

Constantine  V.   (Copro- 
nymus) . 


Germanic  Rulers. 
Charlemagne. 


Charlemagne    (crowned 

by  Pope). 
Louis  the  Pious. 


Lothaire  I. 


Louis  II. 


APPENDIX. 


551 


Date  of 

Accession. 


Popes. 


858     .     . 

.     .     Nicolas  I. 

867     .     . 

.     Adrian  11. 

872     .     . 

.     .     JolmVm. 

875     .     . 

881     .     . 

882    .     . 

.     Marinus  I. 

884    .     . 

.     .     Adrian  III. 

885     .     . 

.     .     Stephen  VI. 

887     .     . 

891     .     . 

.     .     Formosus. 

896     .     . 

.     Boniface  VI. 

896     .     , 

.     .     Stephen  VIL 

897     .     . 

.     Romanus. 

897     .     . 

.     .     Theodorus  II. 

898     .     . 

.     John  IX. 

899     .     . 

900    .     . 

.     .     Benedict  IV. 

903    .     . 

.     LeoV. 

903     .     . 

.     Christophorus. 

904     ..     , 

.     Sergius  III. 

911     ..     . 

.     Anastasius  III. 

913     .     , 

.     Lando. 

914     ..     . 

.     John  X. 

919     .     . 

928     .     . 

.     Leo  VI. 

929     ..     . 

.     Stephen  VIII. 

931     ..     . 

.    John  XL 

936     ..     . 

.     Leo  VIL 

939     ..     . 

.     Stephen  IX. 

942     ..     . 

.     Marinus  II. 

946     .     . 

.     Agapetus  II. 

956     ..     . 

.     JohnXIL 

963     ..     . 

.     Leo  VIIL 

964     ..     . 

.     Benedict  V. 

965     .     .     . 

.     JohnXIIL 

972    ..     . 

.    Benedict  VI. 

Emperors. 


Charles  the  Bald. 
Charles  the  Fat. 


Arnulf. 


Louis  (the  Child). 


Conrad  I. 


Henry  I.  (the  Fowler). 


Otto  L  (or  Otho  L). 


5S2 


APPENDIX. 


Date  of 
Accession. 

973 

974 

974 

983 

984 

985 

996 

999 
1002 
1003 
1003 
1009 
1012 
1024 
1033 
1039 
1045 
1046 
1048 
1049 
1055 
1056 
1057 
1058 
1058 
1061 
1073 
1086 
1088 
1099 
1106 
1118 
1119 
1124 
1125 
1130 
1138 
1143 


Popes. 


Emperors. 


.     Boniface  VII. 

.     Benedict  VII. 

.     John  XIV. 

.     Boniface  VII.  (again). 

.     John  XV. 

.     Gregory  V. 

.     Sylvester  II. 

.     John  XVII. 
.     JohnXVIII. 
.     Sergius  IV. 
.     Benedict  VIII. 
.     John  XIX. 
.     Benedict  IX. 

.     Gregory  VI. 
.     Clement  II. 
.     Damasus  II. 
.     Leo  IX. 
.     Victor  II. 

.     Stephen  X. 
.     Benedict  X. 
.     Nicolas  II. 
.     Alexander  II. 
.     Gregory  VIL 
.     Victor  IIL 
.     Urban  II. 
.     Paschal  IL 

.     Gelasius  IL 
.     Calixtus  II. 
.     Honorius  II. 

.     .     Innocent  IL 

.     .     Celestine  II. 

Otto  IL 
Otto  IIL 

Henry  IL 

Conrad  IL 
Henry  IH. 


Henry  IV. 


Henry  V, 

Lothaire  II. 
Conrad  IIL 


APPENDIX. 


553 


Date  of 
Accession. 

1144  . 

1145  . 
1152     . 

Popes. 

Lucius  II. 
.     Eugeiiius  III. 

1153  . 

1154  . 
1159     . 
1181     . 
1185     . 
1187     . 
1187     . 
1190     . 

Anastasius  IV. 
.     Adrian  IV. 
.     Alexander  III. 

Lucius  III. 

Urban  III. 

Gregory  VIII. 

Clement  III. 

1191     . 

1198     . 
1208     . 

Celestine  IIL 
Innocent  IIL 

1215     . 

1216     . 
1227     . 
1241     . 
1243     . 
1250     . 

Honorius  III. 
Gregory  IX. 
Celestine  IV. 
Innocent  IV. 

1254     . 
1261     . 
1265     . 

1271  . 

1272  . 

Alexander  IV. 
Urban  IV. 
Clement  IV. 
Gregory  X. 

1276     . 
1276     . 

1276  .     . 

1277  . 
1281     . 
1285     . 
1288     . 
1292     . 

Innocent  V. 
Adrian  V. 
John  XXI. 
Nicolas  IIL 
Martin  IV. 
Honorius  IV. 
Nicolas  IV. 

1294    . 
1294    . 
1298     . 

Celestine  V. 
Boniface  VI [I. 

1303     . 
1305     . 

Benedict  XL 
Clement  V. 

Emperors. 


Frederic  I. 


Henry  VI. 

Philip  of  Swabia. 
Otto  IV. 
Frederic  II. 


Conrad  IV. 
Interregnum. 


Rudolf  I.  (of  Hapsburg). 


Adolf  of  Nassau. 


Albert  I. 


554 


APPENDIX, 


Date  of 

Accession. 

1308     . 


Popes. 


1314 


1316     .     . 

.     .     John  XXII. 

1334     .     . 

.     .     Benedict  XII. 

1342     .     . 

.     Clement  VI. 

1347     .     . 

1352     .     . 

.     .     Innocent  VI. 

1362     .     . 

.     .     Urban  V. 

1370     .     . 

.     Gregory  XI. 

1378     .     . 

.     Urban  VI. 

1378     .     . 

.     Clement    VII.    (anti- 

Pope). 

1389     .     . 

.     Boniface  IX. 

1394     .     . 

.     Benedict  XIII.  (anti- 

Pope). 

1400     .     . 

1404     .     . 

.     Innocent  VII. 

1406     .     . 

.     Gregory  XII. 

1410     .     .     . 

.     Alexander  V. 

1410     .     . 

.     John  XXIII. 

1417     .     . 

.     IMartin  V. 

1431     .     . 

.     Eugenius  IV. 

1438     .     . 

1440     .     . 

1447     .     . 

.     Nicolas  V. 

1455     .     . 

.     Calixtus  III. 

1458     .     . 

.     .     Pius  II. 

1464    .     . 

.     Paul  II. 

1471     .     . 

.     Sixtus  IV. 

1484     .     . 

.     Innocent  VIII. 

1492     .     . 

.     Alexander  VI. 

1493     .     . 

1503     .     . 

.     Pius  III. 

1503     .     . 

.     Julius  II. 

1513     .     . 

.     Leo  X. 

Emperors. 

Henry  VII.  (of  Luxem- 
burg). 
Louis  IV.  of  Bavaria. 


Charles  IV. 


Wenzel  (of  Luxemburg) 


Rupert    (of    the    Pala- 
tinate). 


Sigismund. 


Albert  IL 
Frederic  III. 


Maximilian  L 


INDEX, 


Abelard,  282  ff. 

Absolution,  development  of  the  extreme 
sacerdotal  view  of,  25-i  f. 

Adam  of  St,  Victor,  501  ff. 

Adamnan,  2-i  ff. 

Adoptionism,  92. 

Adrian  I.,  110, 122;  IV.,  192  ff.,  544  f. 

Aegidius  of  Rome,  380  f. 

Aelfric,  106. 

^neas  Syvius  (Pius  II.),  437,  454. 

Agobard  of  Lyons,  90,  137,  144. 

Aidan,  32  f. 

Alaric,  17. 

Alani,  the,  17. 

Albertus  Magnus,  299,  304,  315. 

Albigenses,  95,  231  ff.,  240. 

Alcuin,  34,  43,  67,  87  f.,  126. 

Alemanni,  the,  13  f. 

Alexander  II.,  124,  144,  169;  III.,  136, 
144,  195  ff.,  205,  397;  V.,  358  f. ;  VI. 
373  ff.,  477  ff. 

Alfonso,  King  of  Naples  and  Sicily, 
324. 

Alfred  the  Great,  63  ff. 

All  Saints,  festival  of,  136  f. 

Alzog,  103,  113,  134,  169,  172  f .,  211, 
247,  362. 

Amalrich  of  Bena,  306  f. 

Amort,  126. 

Anacletus  II.,  anti-Pope,  191,  278. 

Andrew  of  Crete,  490. 

Angelico,  Fra  Giovanni,  525. 

Anglo-Saxons,  15  f.,  27  ff. 

Annates,  352. 

Anschar,  44  f. 

Anselm  of  Canterbury,  163, 191,  304. 

Appeals,  as  promoting  papal  assump- 
tions, 121. 

Aquinas,  Thomas,  299,  304,  314,  503. 

Architecture,  513  ff. 

Arianism,  18,  20. 

Aristotelianism,  302. 

Arnold  of  Brescia,  192  f, 

Arnulf,  Bishop  of  Orleans,  111  f. 


Attila,  19. 

Augustine  and  Augustinianism,  92  f. 

Augustine,  missionary,  28  ff. 

Augustines,  the,  287. 

Avignon,  the  line  of  Popes  at,  345  ff. 

Baptism,  132  f . 

Barbarian  tribes,  premonitions  of  their 
destructive  invasion,  7;  their  charac- 
teristics and  beliefs,  8  ff. ;  chief  con- 
federacies in  the  third  and  fourth 
centuries,  13;  successive  inroads,  13 
ff. ;  fall  of  the  Western  empire,  19  f.; 
the  prospect  for  Christianity,  20  ff. 

Badby,  John,  425. 

Bardanes,  71. 

Bartholomew  of  Pisa,  291. 

Basilius  I.,  Eastern  emperor,  481. 

Basle,  Council  of,  365  ff.,  378. 

Bajazet,  Sultan,  373. 

Becket,  Thomas,  196  ff. 

Beda,  27  f.,  32,  34,  66,  67,  109,  140  ff. 

Beghards,  301. 

Beguines,  301. 

Belisarius,  18. 

Benedict  IX.,  113;  XL,  344;  XIII. 
(anti-Pope),  356,  361. 

Benedict  of  Aniane,  140. 

Berengar,  93. 

Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  191,  272  ff.,  309 
ff.,  498  f. 

Bernard  of  Cluny,  500. 

Bertha,  29. 

Berthold  of  Calabria,  287. 

Bishops,  connected  with  civil  affairs, 
99  f . ;  under  authority  of  the  State  as 
to  appointment,  103  f.  ;  objection  to 
bishops  at  large,  108;  country 
bishops,  108;  peculiarity  of  the  epis- 
copate in  Ireland  and  "Scotland,  25, 
108  ff.;  right  of  confirming  assumed 
by  the  Pope,  124;  bishops  largely 
subjects  of  papal  patronage,  249  f. 

Boethius,  65. 


556 


INDEX. 


Bogomilies,  94,  233. 

Bohemia,  planting  of  Christianity  in, 

47;  reform  mov«raent  in,  427  ff. 
Bohemian  Brethren,  399,  457. 
Bohemoud  of  Tarentum,  264  f. 
Bonaventura.  299,  304,  314  f.,  504,  510. 
Boniface  111.,  117;  IV.,  136  f. ;  VIIL, 

149,   257,   332  ft.,  345  f.,   380;    IX., 

356  f. 
Boniface,  missionary,  38  ff. 
Borgia,  Caisar,  374  ff. 
Brethren  of  the  Common  Life,  468  ff. 
Bruno,  271. 

Bulgaria,  Christianity  in,  47  f. 
Burgundians,  17  f. 

C^SARINS,  300. 

Calixtines,  458. 

Calixtus  III.,  368. 

Canonizing,  regular  mode  of,  provided, 
136. 

Canons,  institution  of  houses  of,  105  f. 

Canterbury,  30. 

Canute,  65. 

Capetian  line,  157  f. 

Capuchins,  301. 

Carmelites,  287. 

Carthusians,  271. 

Cathari,  95,  233  ff. 

Catharine  of  Siena,  379. 

Celestines,  300. 

Celibacy  of  the  clergy,  106  f.,  177  f., 
252  f.,  377  f.,  416.     " 

Charles  of  Anjou,  154  f.,  247,  484. 

Charles  the  Bald,  63,  100. 

Charles  the  Fat,  66. 

Charles  VII.  of  France,  329;  VIII., 
475  f. 

Charles  IV.,  of  GermanA-,  156. 

Charles  II.,  King  of  Naples,  323,  334. 

Charlemagne,  42  f.,  60  ff.,  87,  92,  103, 
111,  122,  143. 

Charles  Martel,  38  f.,  58  f. 

Chivalry,  as  related  to  the  Crusades, 
261. 

Chrodegang  of  Metz,  105  f.,  125. 

Church,  in  relation  to  the  State,  96  ff. 

Church  constitution,  peculiaritv  of  the 
Scottish  or  Celtic,  25,  108  ff. ;"  growth 
and  culmination  of  the  papal  theoc- 
racy, 114  ff,,  165  ff. ;  various  features 
that  appeared  between  Gregory  VIII. 
and  Boniface  VIII.,  248  ff. 

Church  discipline,  125  ff.,  254  ff.,  320  f . 

Cimabue,  522. 

Cistercians,  271  ff. 

Cities,  as  factors  of  the  Empire,  156. 


Clarendon,  Constitutions  of,  202  ff. 

Claudius  of  Turin,  90,  137,  395. 

Clement  v.,  257  f.,  344  ff.,  350;  VI. 
351,  353  f . ;  VII.  (anti-Pope),  356. 

Clementines,  258. 

Clermont,  Council  of,  263. 

Clotilda,  15. 

Clovis,  14  f. 

Clunv,  Order  of,  140;  Church  of,  515  f. 

Cobham,  Lord,  425  ff. 

Celestine  V.,  332  f. 

Cologne,  cathedral  of,  520. 

Colonna,  house  of,  334  f.,  338,  343,  345, 
361. 

Columba,  24  ff. 

Columbanus,  34  ff. 

Comnenus,  house  of,  482. 

Conall,  25. 

Confession,  125  f.,  254. 

Conrad  IL,  66;  III.,  265,  285. 

Conrad  of  Waldhausen,  429. 

Consolamentum,  Catharist  rite,  237. 

Constance,  Council  of,  301,  321, 359  ff., 
378,  423. 

Constantine  XL,  483. 

Constantine  Copronymus,  84  f. 

Controversies,  76  ff.,  90  ff. 

Conventuals,  301. 

Corman,  31  f. 

Correggio,  529. 

Cosmas  of  Jerusalem,  490  f. 

Councils :  Aachen  (836),  139 ;  Amalfi 
(1089),  252;  Aries  (813).  131,  (1234), 
257;  Basle  (1431—),  365  ff.;  Bourges 
(1031),  98;  Calcuith(816),  109:  Cha- 
lons on  the  Saone  (813),  109;  Cler- 
mont (1095),  263;  Cloveshoe  (747), 
127;  Constance  (1414),  359  ff. ;  Con- 
stantinople (sixth  ecumenical  in  680), 
71  ff. ;  Constantinople  (iconoclastic  in 
754),  84  f . ;  Florence  (1438),  367,  484 
f.;  Frankfort  (794),  87;  Friaul  (796), 
107;  Lateran,  the  Second  (1139), 
192;  Lateran,  the  Fourth  (1215), 
238;  Lvons  (1274),  484;  Mentz  (813), 
134,  (847),  127,  (888),  107;  Metz  (813, 
847),  97  f.,  (888),  107,  129;  Nantes 
(658),  107;  Nicc-ea.  the  Second  (787), 
85  f.,  88;  Norbonne  (1243),  257; 
Paris  (614),  98,  (825),87f.,  (829),  131, 
(1209),  306  f. ;  Pa  via  (876,  1018).  107; 
Pisa  (1409),  358  f.;  Placentia  (1095), 
263;  Rathbreasail  (1110),  109:  Ries- 
bach  (799),  107;  Rheims  (624),  98 
(813),  131  ;  Rome  (743),  107,  (]080), 
173;  Rouen  (1072),  98;  Soissons 
(744),  107,  (813),  138;  Toledo  (589), 


INDEX. 


657. 


90,  (633),  107,  (G55),  107  ;  Toulouse 

(122y),  240  f.;   Tribur  (895),  133  f.; 

Valence  (855),  143 ;  Vatican  (18G9), 

74,    3G3  f.;     Whitby    (UG4),    33  f.; 

Worms  (107G),  181. 
Courtenay,  403,  400. 
Criticism'of  the  Church,  representatives 

of,  380  ff . 
Crusades  for  the  recovery  of  the  Holy 

Land,  175,  226  ff.,  259  Iff.,  368  f. 
Crusades  against  heretics,  230  ft'.,  321, 

399. 
Culdees,  26  f. 
Cunibert  of  Turin,  106  f. 
Cuthbert,  32  f. 

Damiani,  139,  497. 

Danes  in  England,  65. 

Dante,  326  f. 

David  of  Dinanto,  307  f . 

D'Aillv,  Peter,  333,  365,  389,  455. 

Decretals,  122  f .,  257. 

Defensor  Pacis,  book  of  Marsilius  of 
Padua,  382  f . 

De  Hjeretico  comburendo,  the  statute, 
425. 

De  Molav,  Jacques,  348  f. 

De  Montfort,  Simon,  231  f.,  240. 

Denmark,  Christianity  preached  in,  38, 
44. 

Dionysius,  the  pseudo  Areopagite,  541. 

Dollinger,  73  f. 

Dominicans,  287,  292  ff. 

Dominion,  Wycliffe's  theory  of,  407  ff. 

Donation  of  Constantine,  the  fable  criti- 
cised, 390. 

Duccio,  522. 

Duel,  as  ordeal,  143. 

Diirer.  Albert,  528. 

Duns  Scotus,  299,  304. 

Dunstan,  140. 

Durandus,  304,  404. 

Easter,  conflict  between  British  and 
Roman  custom  on  the  time  of  cele- 
brating, 33  f. 

Ebbo,  archbishop  of  Rheims,  44  f. 

Eckhart,  461  flf. 

Education  of  clergy,  105  f. 

Edward  I.  of  England,  332,  336  f;  III., 
329  f .,  406  f. 

Edwin,  King  of  Northumberland,  30  f. 

Elfleda,  abbess,  141. 

Elipandus  of  Toledo,  92. 

Empire,  the  Holy  Roman,  155  ff..  326  ff. 

Empire,  the  Eastern  or  Greek,  20,  153, 
227f..481ff. 


Episcopacy,  25,  103  f.,  107  ff.,  124. 

Erigena,  John  Scotus,  07,  303 ff. 

Ethel bi-irga,  30. 

Ethelbert,  29. 

Eucharist,  93,  133  f. 

Euchites,  94. 

Eugenius  HI.,  192,  280;  IV.,  364  ff. 

Euthymius  Zigabenus,  485. 

Excommunication,  128  ft".,  253. 

Extravagantes,  258. 

Felix  V.,  anti-Pope,  367. 

Felix  of  Urgelis,  92. 

Feudalism,  63,  161,  175,  203,  269,  329. 

Flagellations,  custom  of,  138  f . 

Florence,  council  of,  307,  484  f . 

Francis  of  Assisi,  288  ff. 

Francis  I.  of  France,  326. 

Franciscans,  287  ff". 

Franks,  14  f . 

Fraticelli,  300. 

Fredegonda,  15. 

Frederic    I.     (Barbarossa),     emperor, 

193  ff.,  266;    II.    209,    217,    242  ff., 

267;  III.,  328. 
Frederic,  Spanish  King  of  Sicily,  323  f., 

334. 
Freeman,  E.  A.,  83.  159. 
Free  Spirit,  Sect  of  the,  307. 
Friedrich,  missionary  to  Iceland,  46. 
Frisians,     missionary    labors    among, 

37  ff. 
Fulbert  of  Chartres,  497. 

Gallus.  36. 

Gerbert,  112. 

Germanus,  Patriarch  of  Constantino- 
ple, 84. 

Gerson,  John.  358.  365,  387  ff.,  455. 

Ghibellines,  152,  326  f. 

Ghiberti,  523. 

Gibbon, 19. 

Giotto,  523  f . 

Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  264  f. 

Gothic  stvle,  516  ff. 

Goths,  16  f. 

Gottschalk,  crusader,  264. 

Gottschalk,  predestinarian,  92  f. 

Gratian,  compiler  of  canon  law,  257. 

Green,  J,  R.  16,  64,  403,  418. 

Gregorv  (I.)  the  Great,  23  f,  27  f.,  65, 
77,  98,  114ff.,  132,  492  ;  H.,  39,  73; 
IV.,  in,  137;  VI.  113:  VII.,  see  be- 
low; IX;  243  f..  247,  2.50,  257;  XL, 
350,  355:  Xll.,  356.  360. 

Gregory  VII.  (Hildebrand),  his  prepa- 
ration   for  the   papal    oltice,   165  f.; 


558 


INDEX. 


character,  166  ff.;  election,  168  f.; 
conception  of  papal  prerogatives, 
171  ff. ;  proposed  reforms,  175  f. ; 
edict  against  priestly  marriage  and 
concubinage,  177  f . ;  decree  against 
simony  and  lay  investiture,  179 ;  con- 
flict with  Henry  IV.,  180  ff.;  exile 
and  death,  185'f.;  referred  to,  93, 
104,  162. 

Gregory  of  Tours,  15,  102. 

Greek  Church,  90  f.,  228,  367,  481  ff. 

Groot,  Gerhard,  468  f . 

Guelfs,  152. 

Guibert,  anti-Pope,  185. 

Guizot,  100,  158. 

Hacon,  King  of  Norwav,  46. 

Hagenbach,  K.  R.,  294.' 

Hales,  Alexander,  299,  304,  314. 

Hallam,  62,  102,  124,  151,  161,  330. 

Harald,  King  of  Denmark,  44. 

Hefele,  73,  75  f.,  84. 

Henricians,  234. 

Henry  (I.)  the  Fowler,  48,  66. 

Henry  H.,  emperor,  66;  III.,  66,  104, 
114;  IV.,  66,  180  ff.;  V.,  66,  187  ff.; 
VI.,  209;  VII.,  326,  328. 

Henry  I.  of  England,  191;  II.,  196  ff. ; 
IV.,  424. 

Henrv  of  Lausanne,  234. 

Heraclius,  68  ff.,  96. 

Hereford,  Nicholas,  421,  423. 

Heresies,  94  f.,  232ff.,  306f. 

Hilda,  abbess,  141  f. 

Hildebert,  497  f . 

Hildegard,  298. 

Hincmar  of  Rheims,  92,  119  f. 

Hohenstaufen  line,  154,  156,  193,  209, 
242. 

Holbein,  528. 

Honorius  I.,  69  ff. ;  III.,  250. 

Hospitallers,  or  Knights  of  St.  John, 
268. 

Hugh  Capet,  157. 

Hugh  of  Lusignan,  266. 

Huo;h,  count  of  Vermandois,  264. 

Hugo  of  St.  Victor,  311  f. 

Humanism,  319  f . 

Hungarians,  Christianizing  of  the,  48. 

Huns,  16ff.,60. 

Huss,  John,  and  the  Hussites,  causes 
tending  to  a  reform  movement  in 
Bohemia,  427  ff. ;  forerunners  of  Huss 
in  Bohemia,  429  ff. ;  his  indebtedness 
to  Wycliffe,  433  f.;  his  education  and 
early'  engagements,  434  f. ;  events 
leading    to    his    excommunication, 


435 ff.;  his  De  Ecclesia,  442 f. ;  the 
safe-conduct  of  the  Emperor  under 
which  he  came  to  the  council  of  Con- 
stance, 443  ff. ;  his  trial  and  martyr- 
dom, 447  ff . ;  refusal  of  his  followers 
to  submit  to  the  mandates  of  the 
Church,  and  their  singular  success 
in  withstanding  attempted  subjuga- 
tion, 456  ff. ;  other  references,  321, 
357,  364  f.,  366,  423  f. 
Hymns,  490  ff. 

Iceland,  receives  Christianity,  46. 

Iconoclastic  controversv,  76  ff." 

Iconoclasts,  79  f.,  83  ff.' 

Ignatius,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople, 
118. 

Image-worship,  77  f.,  80  ff.,  85  ff. 

Immunities,  clerical,  96,  98  f.,  199  ff., 
250  f.,  320. 

Indulgences,  127,  226  f.,  231,  255  f., 
320  f.,  338,  413,  439  ff . 

Index,  Congregation  of  the,  479  f. 

Infallibilitv  of  the  Pope,  contradicted 
by  facts' 71  ff.,  361  ff. 

Innocent  II.,  191  f.,  278,  280;  HI.,  see 
below;  IV.,  244 f.,  250;  VII.,  356; 
VIII.,  321,  372  f. 

Innocent  III.,  advantageous  circum- 
stances under  which  he  came  to  the 
papal  throne,  209  f.;  his  place  in  the 
line  of  Popes,  210  f.;  his  conception 
of  the  papal  office,  211  f. ;  his  relations 
with  Italv,  213  f . ;  with  Germanv, 
214  ff. ;  with  France,  217  ff. ;  with 
England,  220  ff. ;  with  the  Spanish 
States,  225  f. ;  his  attempt  to  manage 
the  fourth  crusade,  227  f. ;  his  sever- 
ity against  heretics  and  part  in  in- 
augurating a  thorough  scheme  of 
repression,  228 ff.;  referred  to,  257, 
290,  306. 

Inquisition,  steps  toward  its  organiza- 
tion, 238  ff.,  240  f.;  connection  of 
Dominicans  with,  294.  (For  a  sketch 
of  the  work  and  methods  of  the  In- 
quisition see  Modern  Church,  vol.  i.) 

Interdicts,  128  ff".,  218,  222,  225. 

lona,  25. 

Ireland,  23  f.,  109  f.,  193  f. 

Irene,  patroness  of  image  worship,  85  f. 

Irnerius,  257. 

Jacobus  of  Misa,  456. 
James  de  Benedictis,  505. 
Jerome  of  Prague,  451  ff. 
Joachim  of  Floris,  301,  308  f. 


INDEX. 


550 


Joan  of  Arc,  329. 

John  XII.,  113;  XV.,  136;  XXII.,  320, 
350  f.,   352  f.;    XXIII.,    321,   359  f. ; 

439  f. 
John  VII.,  Eastern  emperor,  484. 
John,  King  of  Enghmd,  220  ff. 
John  of  Damascus,  67,  81  f.,  490. 
John  of  Gaunt,  Uuke  of  Lancaster,  409. 
John  of  Janduno,  382. 
John  of  Paris,  381  f. 
John  of  Salisbury,  198. 
Joseph  Hymnographus,  492. 
Julius  II.,  376. 
Jus  exuviarum,  248  f. 
Jus  primarum  precum,  248. 
Jus  regaliae,  248  f . 

Kempis,  Thomas  a,  469  f. 

Killian,  37. 

Knighton,  422,  424. 

Koran,  52  ff. 

Kugler,  Franz,  530,  533. 

Lacordaire,  295. 

Ladislaus,  King  of  Naples,  439. 

Lanfranc,  160,^304. 

Langton,  Stephen,  221  f.,  224. 

Lateran  Council,  the  Fourth,  238. 

Lav  investiture,  175  f.,  179,  189  £f. 

Lechler,  406,  419. 

Leif,  son  of  Eric  the  Red,  46  f. 

Leo  II.,  72  f.  ;  IX.,  154;  X.,  376. 

Leo  IV.,  emperor,  85. 

Leo  the  Armenian,  86. 

Leo  the  Isaurian,  83  f . 

Leonardo  da  Vinci,  529  ff. 

Libri  Carolini,  87  ff. 

Lingard,  99,  127  f.,  134,  136,  138. 

Liudger,  43. 

Lives  of  the  Saints,  135  f. 

Lollards,  424  ff. 

Lombards,  20,  60. 

Lombard,  Peter,  254  f.,  304. 

Lothairel.,  100;  II.,  119. 

Louis  of  Bavaria,  emperor,  320,  351  f. 

Louis  the  Pious,  44,  137. 

Louis,  son  of  Louis  the  Pious,  100. 

Louis  VI.  of  France,   157;  VII.,  157, 

265,  278;  IX.  (Saint),  157  ff.,  245  ff., 

267;  XL,  329. 
Lucius  II.,  192. 
Liibke,  525. 
Luidhard,  29. 
Lyons,  Council  of,  484. 

Machiavelli,  475. 
Magna  Charta,  162,  224. 


Malcolm  Canmore,  26. 

Manichacan  beliefs  among  mediaeval 
sects,  233. 

Margaret,  Queen  of  Scotland,  26. 

Maronites,  71. 

Martin  I.,  70,  111;  V.,  321,  361,  363, 
365. 

Martin,  Henri.  61,  162,  220,  346. 

Marriage,  regulations  respecting,  97  f. 

Marsilius  of  Padua.  382  ff. 

Mass,  the  ;  see  Eucharist. 

Mary,  the  Virgin,  honors  to,  84  f.,  86, 
322,  510  ff. 

Matilda,  Countess,  170,  183. 

Matthew  Paris,  246,  298  ff. 

Matthias  of  Janow.  430  ff. 

Maximus,  monk,  70. 

Medici  family,  325,  372,  474. 

Memling,  527. 

Mendicant  orders,  287  ff.,  416  f. 

Merovingian  line,  15,  58,  60,  102. 

Methodius,  missionary',  47. 

Metropolitans,  110. 

Michael  Angelo,  531  f. 

Michael  Cerularius,  91. 

Milan,  political  fortunes  of,  325  f. 

Milicz  of  Kremsier,  429  f. 

Milman,  H.  H.,  42,  80,  118,  232,  349, 
353  f.,  514. 

Milton,  John,  410. 

Missionaries,  co-operation  of  the  Ro- 
man bishop  and  the  monks  in  foster- 
ing their  work,  23;  their  labors  in 
Scotland,  24  ff.;  in  England,  27  ff.; 
in  Austrasia  and  Burgundy,  34  ff. ; 
in  Germany,  38  ff . ;  in  the  Scandina- 
vian countries,  43  ff.;  among  the 
Slavonian  races,  47  ff. 

Mohammed  and  Mohammedanism, 
50  ff-. 

Monasticism,  139  ff.,  271  ff. 

Mone,  F.  J.,  510. 

Monophysites,  68  f. 

Monothelite  controversy,  67  ff. 

Montalembert,  141  f. 

Moravia,  planting  of  Christianity  in 
47. 

Moravian  Brethren,  457. 

Mullet,  Wilhelm,  21. 

Muir,  Sir  William,  54  f. 

Mysticism,  305  ff.,  460  ff. 

Mythology,  the  Germanic  and  Scandi- 
navian, 10  ff. 

Naples,  kingdom  of,  323  f. 
Neander,  78,  286. 
Nepotism,  248,  370  ff. 


560 


INDEX. 


Nicetas  Choniates,  485. 

Nicolas  I.,  47  f.,  117  ff.,  123,  144;  III., 

248;  v.,  368,  390. 
Nicolas  de  Clemangis,  378,  386  f . 
Nicolas  of  Strasburg,  463. 
Nicolaus  of  Methone,  485. 
Niliis,  142. 
Ninian,  24. 

Nominalism,  404,  437,  455. 
Norman   Conquest,    its   effect    on    the 

ecclesiastical  relations  of    England, 

162  f. 
Normans  in  southern  Italy,  153  ff. 
Norman  style  of  architecture,  515. 
Norway,  evangelization  of,  45  f. 
Notkef,  497. 

Observants,  301,  382. 
Occam,  William,  304,  385  f ,,  404. 
Odoacer,  19f. 
Olaf  Haroldson,  46. 
Olaf  Tryggvason,  46. 
Oldcastle,  Sir  John,  425  f. 
Olga,  48. 
Omar,  56. 
Orcagna,  524  f. 
Ordeals,  142  ff. 
Orosius,  65. 
Oswald,  31. 

Otho  (or  Otto)  the  Great,  48,  65,  103, 
113;  II.,  66;  III.,  66,  104;  IV.  214  ff. 

Painting,  522  ff . 

Palajologus,  Michael,  482  f. 

Palecz,  Stephen,  440. 

Pantheism,  as  characteristic  of  hetero- 
dox mysticism,  305  ff . 

Papacy,  obstacle  to  its  later  claims 
in  the  heresy  of  Honorius  I.,  71 
ff. ;  its  position  in  the  iconoclastic 
controversy,  78  ;  hindrances  to  su- 
premacy, ill  IS. ;  helps  to  suprem- 
acy, 114  ff.;  acquisition  of  tem- 
poral power,  121  f. ;  provision  for  a 
definite  mode  of  election,  124 ;  asser- 
tion of  the  right  to  confirm  all 
bishops,  124;  management  of  the 
process  of  canonizing  assumed,  136; 
difficultv  of  maintaining  temporal 
sovereignt)',  153,  213  f.  324  f. ;  theo- 
cratic rule  as  represented  by  Gregory 
VII, ,  Innocent  III.,  and  others,  165 
ff. ;  causes  initiating  decline  of  au- 
thority, 245  ff . ;  patronage  over  the 
episcopal  office,  249  f . ;  effect  of  the 
crusades  to  render  the  people  less 
passive  subjects,  269 ;  stages  of  papal 


history  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries,  331 ;  height  of  pretension 
in  the  bull  Unam  Sanctam,  339 ff,; 
transference  of  the  papal  throne  to 
Avignon  for  seventy  years,  345  ff. ; 
the  great  schism,  355  ff . ;  papal  au- 
thority declared  subordinate  to  that 
of  a  general  council,  361  ff.,  366; 
era  of  moral  disgrace  at  the  end  of 
the  fifteenth  centurv,  370  ff. ;  sharp 
criticisms  of  the  papal  theory,  380  ff ., 
415,  442f. 

Paschal  II.,  187 ff. 

Paterines,  230. 

Paulicians,  94,  233. 

Paulinus,  30  f . 

Pazzi,  conspiracy  of  the,  372. 

Penance,  125,  127  f. 

Pepin,  41,  59,  121  f. 

Persecution  of  heretics,  95, 228  ff .,  240  f. 
257,  321,  399,  425. 

Peter  of  Aragon,  155. 

Peter  the  Hermit,  263  f. 

Petrarch,  324,  353. 

Petrobruscians,  234. 

Philip,  emperor,  214  ff. 

Philip  Augustus,  157  f.,  217  ff.,  266. 

Philip  the  Fair,  157  f.,  268,  332,  336  ff. 

Phocas,  116. 

Photius,  48,  67,  118  f. 

Picts,  conversion  of,  25. 

Pierre  de  Bruvs,  234. 

Pilgrimages,  137  f.,  261  f. 

Pilichdorf,  Petrus  de,  393  f . 

Pisa,  Council  of,  358  f . 

Pius  II.,  368  f. 

Poggio,  454. 

Poland,  planting  of  Christianity  in,  47. 

Poor  men  of  Lyons,  230,  392, 

Popes;  see  Papacy. 

Praemunire,  statute  of,  352  f. 

Pragmatic  Sanction,  247  f,,  367,  369. 

Preaching,  132,  287  f .,  297,  419. 

Predestination,  controversy  over  in  the 
ninth  centurv,  92  f . 

Preger,  Wilheim,  315. 

Priscillianists,  233. 

Procession  of  the  Spirit,  dispute  over, 
90. 

Provisors,  statute  of,  352  f . 

Pseudo-Isidore  decretals,  122  f. 

Pullus,  Robert.  254  f. 

Purgatory,  398. 

Purvey,  John,  421. 

Rabanus  Maurus,  67,  92,  495. 
Radbertus,  Paschasius,  93,  543. 


% 


INDEX, 


561 


Rambaud,  Alfred,  487  f. 

Raphael  Sanzio,  532  ff. 

Ratramnus,  93. 

Raymond  of  Pennaforte,  257. 

Raymond  (VI.)  of  Toulouse,  231,  240; 

VII.,  240. 
Realism,  404  f.,  433. 
Reccared,  99. 

Reformation,  preparation  for  the,  319. 
Reinerus,  235,  391  ff. 
Relic-worship  134  f. 
Renaissance  style  of  architecture,  521. 
Republican  development  in  Northern 

Italy,  151  f . 
Richard  (I.)  Coeur  de  Lion,  266;   II., 

424. 
Richard  of  St.  Victor,  312  fif. 
Rienza,  Cola  di,  324  f. 
Robert,  King  of  France,  496. 
Robert  of  Molesme,  271. 
Robertson,  J.  C,  199  f. 
Roger  II.,  King  of  Sicily,  154. 
Romanesque    style    of     Architecture, 

513  ff. 
Romuald,  142. 
Rudolf  of  Hapsburg,  156. 
Rudolph,    rival    of    Henry    IV.,  174, 

184  f. 
Ruskin,  John,  535. 
Russia,  planting  of  Christianity  in,  48; 

sketch    of    the    mediaeval   'Russian 

Church,  486  ff. 
Ruysbroek,  468. 

SacrAments,  the  seven,  541  ff. 

Saint  Clara,  Order  of,  290. 

St.  Ouen,  church  of,  519  f. 

St.  Peter's,  521. 

Saint-worship,  134  f.,  414. 

Saladin,  266. 

Sawtre,  William,  425. 

Savonarola,  473  ff . 

Saxons,  15  f.,  42  f. 

Schism,  the  great  papal,  355  ff. 

Scholarios,  George,  486. 

Scholasticism,  302  ff. 

Scriptures,  reading  of,  interdicted  to 
the  laity,  241  f . ;  placed  above  church 
authority  by  Wycliffe,  410  ff. ;  trans- 
lated by  Wycliffe  and  his  associates, 
419  ff. 

Serenus  of  Marseilles,  77. 

Sergius,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople, 
69,  72  f. 

Servites,  the,  287. 

Sforza,  Francesco,  325. 

Sicilian  Vespers,  155,  323. 


Sigismund,  emperor,  359,  443  fF. 

Simeon,  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  263. 

Simone  di  Martino,  525. 

Simony,  104,  179,  374. 

SixtusIV.,  370  ff. 

Sorcery,  546  ff . 

Spain,  Mohammedan  conquest  of,  56; 

Arabic  learning  in,   57;   reconquest 

bv  Christians,  163 ;  claimed  as  papal 

fief,  174. 
State,  its  jurisdiction  over  ecclesiastical 

affairs,  101  ff.,  248  f. 
Stephanus  de  Borbone,  392. 
Stephen  VI.,  Pope,  144. 
Stephen,  King  of  Hungary,  48. 
Stitny,  Thomas,  428. 
Suevi,  the,  17. 

Sunday,  laws  on  the  observance  of,  131. 
Supererogatory  merits,  255,  414. 
Suso,  Henry,  467. 
Sweden,  evangelization  of,  44  f. 
Sylvester  III.,  113. 
Synods ;  see  Councils. 

Taborites,  457. 

Tacitus,  8  ff. 

Tancred,  265. 

Tartars,  488. 

Tauler,  John,  463  ff. 

Templars,  268,  346  ff. 

Temporal  power  of  the  Popes,  121  f. 

152  f.,   191  f.,  213  f.   324  f.,  370  f., 

375  f. 
Tertiaries,  296  f .,  301. 
Testament,  matters  of,  regulated  bv  the 

Church,  98. 
Teutonic  Knights,  268. 
Theobald,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 

197. 
Theodora,     patroness    of    image-wor- 
ship, 87. 
Theodore,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 

34. 
Theodore  of  the  Studium,  490  f. 
Theodoric  a  Niem,  378. 
Theodoric,  the  Ostrogoth,  20. 
Theodosius,  17. 

Theodulphus,  Bishop  of  Orleans,  125. 
Theophilus,  emperor,  86. 
Theophylact,  485. 
Thomas  Aquinas;  see  Aquinas. 
Thomas  of  Celano,  290,  505  ff. 
Thorwald,  46. 
Tithes,  98. 
Tiziano,  529. 
Transubstantiation,   controversy   over, 

93;  denied  by  Wycliff"e,  416. 


30 


562 


INDEX. 


Trench,  R.  C,  501,  506. 
Truce  of  God,  144  f . 
Turks,  260  f.,  483,  486. 
Tyndale,  William,  421  f . 

Ullmann,  470. 

Ulric  of  Augsburg,  canonized,  136. 

Unam  Sanctam,    the  famous    bull   of 

Boniface  VIII.,  339  ff. 
Union  projected  between  the  Latin  and 

the  Greek  Church,  367,  483  ff. 
Universities,   date  of  their  rise,   304, 

426,  437. 
Urban  II.,  187,  252,  263  f.;  VI.,  320, 

355. 
Utraquists,  458. 

Valens,  17. 

Valla,  Laurentius,  390. 

Vandals,  17  f . 

Van  Ej'-ck,  Hubert  and  John,  526  f. 

Vaudois,  the,  394. 

Venantius  Fortunatus,  492. 

Victor  IV.,  anti-Pope,  195. 

Villemain,  169. 

Visconti  family,  325  f. 

Visigothic  code,  100. 

Vladimir,  48. 

Waldenses,  237  f .,  321,  391  ff. 
Waldo,  Peter,  391  ff. 
Walter  the  Penniless,  264. 
Wenzel,  King  of  Bohemia,  434,  437  f . 
Wessel,  John,  471  f . 


Wilfrid,  33  f .,  37. 

Willehad,  43. 

William  the  Conqueror,  159  ff.,  174, 
199  f. 

William,  Bishop  of  Paris.  255. 

William  of  Nogaret,  343'f. 

William  Kufus,  249. 

William  of  St.  Amour,  299. 

Willibrord,  37,  39. 

Winfrid;  see  Boniface,  missionary. 

Witchcraft,  popular  delusion  respecting 
encouraged  by  Innocent  VIII.,  373, 
547  f. 

Wratislaw,  444. 

Wycliffe,  scantiness  of  his  personal 
history  compared  with  the  greatness 
of  his  work,  400  f . ;  long  period  of 
preparation  for  his  reformatory  task, 
401;  his  connection  with  Oxford 
University,  401  f . ;  his  standing  as 
scholastic'  doctor,  402  ff. ;  his  prin- 
ciples and  activity  as  an  ecclesiastico- 
political  reformer,  406  ff. ;  his  work 
as  a  reformer  of  theological  teaching, 
410  ff. ;  his  expedients  for  bringing 
religious  knowledge  to  the  masses, 
418  ff. ;  his  influence  upon  the  reform 
movement  in  Bohemia,  423  f.,  433  f . 

York,  episcopal  see  of,  29  f. 

Zbynek,  Archbishop  of  Prague,  438  f. 
Ziska,  459. 


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DATE  DUE 

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POINTED  INU.S. A. 

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BW901  .S54  V.2 

History  of  the  Christian  church. 

S.l"'.'}°''J^'°>ogKal  Semmary-Speer  Library 


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